the next contests. we will compete everywhere. we will compete everywhere. the time is now for conservatives to pull together. the time is now to make sure to make sure that we have the best chance to win this election and the best chance to win this election is to nominate a conservative to go up against barack obama who can take him on on every issue. all right. let s take a closer look at the numbers in both states. you can see how tight this race was. it took awhile at cnn to make these calls. it was running as a three-man race for most of the evening. alabama, rick santorum 35% lead there. and more votes are coming in. but 98% reporting. mississippi calling later for rick santorum with 33% of the vote. there is no mistaking it. it is rick santorum s night. the candidate who began as a virtual unknown for many americans now can say his appeal stretches from middle america all the way down to the deep south. a big part of what we heard from his communications directo