WASHINGTON - Rick Santorum won the Kansas caucuses in a rout on Saturday, and Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney countered in Wyoming, a weekend prelude to suddenly pivotal Southern primary showdowns in the week ahead.
"Things have an amazing way of working out," Santorum told supporters in Missouri, where he traced his campaign through a series of highs and lows. He called his showing in Kansas a "comfortable win" that would give him the vast majority of the 40 delegates at stake.
Santorum picked up 33 of the state's 40 delegates at stake, cutting slightly into Romney's overwhelming advantage.
In Wyoming, Romney won at least six of the 12 delegates at stake, Santorum three, Paul one. Uncommitted won one, and a final delegate remained to be allocated.
The day's events unfolded as the candidates pointed toward Tuesday's primaries in Alabama and Mississippi that loom as unexpectedly important in the race to pick an opponent to President Obama in the fall.
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Polls show a close race in both states, particularly Alabama, where Romney, Gingrich and Santorum all added to their television advertising overnight for the race's final days.
Gingrich, struggling for survival in the race, can ill afford a loss in either Mississippi or Alabama. Romney is seeking a Southern breakthrough to demonstrate an ability to win the support of evangelical voters.
For his part, Santorum hopes to knock Gingrich out of the race and finally emerge as Romney's sole challenger from the right.
The contests in Kansas and Wyoming left Romney with 453 delegates in the AP's count, more than all his rivals combined. Santorum had 217, while Gingrich had 107 and Paul had 47.
Romney's totals included 22 that he picked up in the Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.
A candidate must win 1,144 to clinch the Republican presidential nomination at the national convention in Tampa next August.
Kansas and Wyoming caucuses had little in common except a shared date on the campaign calendar.
Romney made a stop in sparsely populated Wyoming last summer.
Kansas drew more attention from the White House hopefuls, but not much more, given its position midway between Super Tuesday and potentially pivotal primaries next Tuesday in Mississippi and Alabama.
Romney left Kansas to his rivals, while Gingrich scrubbed a scheduled campaign trip to concentrate on the South.
Paul and Santorum both campaigned in the state on Friday, and Gov. Sam Brownback appeared with each, without making an endorsement.
In Topeka, Paul told an audience of about 500 that Kansas should be a "fertile field" for his libertarian-leaning views.
Santorum, who hopes to drive Gingrich from the race in the coming week, lashed out at Obama and Romney simultaneously in remarks in the Kansas capital city.
"We already have one president who doesn't tell the truth to the American people. We don't need another," he said.
Up next
Primaries Tuesday in Alabama with 50 delegates at stake and Mississippi with 40.
Caucuses' results
Kansas
• Santorum 82 percent
• Romney 17 percent
100 percent of precincts reporting.
Wyoming
• Romney 58 percent
• Santorum 25 percent
• Paul 8 percent
• Gingrich 0 percent
• Uncommitted 8 percent
100 percent of precincts reporting.
