In what can only be described as a breakout night for Rick Santorum, the former senator of Pennsylvania now has three new states to add to his collection of Republican victories.  And while he has yet to secure any delegates from the wins, they represent a significant turn in his momentum and reveal unexpected implications for the rest of the Republican race.

Santorum swept up Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado in the February 7^th caucuses and primary, coming in first by squeaking out a 5 point lead in Colorado, a 17 point lead in Minnesota, and a whopping 30 point lead in Missouri.  Without Gingrich even on the ballot in Missouri, the fight for the conservative alternative to Romney went unequivocally to Santorum.  In Santorum’s pledge to also become the “conservative alternative to Obama,” these wins show he means to keep his promise.

On the heels of his victories, social media activity for Santorum has surged.  Previously in a perpetual battle with Ron Paul for third place, Santorum’s Facebook presence has experienced accelerated growth, putting him now just behind a waning Romney in second in terms of growth on social media.     

The social media growth mirrors the growth in news mentions about Santorum relating to the triple victories.  As the results spread, the activity prompted a resurgence of support for his campaign which is reflected in social media.

Source: OhMyGov Media Monitoring

Twitter analytics also show an interesting twist for Santorum and Paul, who out-shine Romney and Gingrich in Twitter mentions.  The upswing for Santorum seems to begin as Gingrich’s mentions steadily decline over the course of the week.  As of this publishing, Santorum is the #1 candidate being mentioned on Twitter, revealing a buzz around his campaign that has been absent for the majority of the race. 

Since no delegates were decided last night, the biggest implication for Santorum is the renewed popularity that these wins provide. Along with bragging rights, these victories increase his media attention across all platforms and may help him to raise money to continue his campaign.  In a race where most voters and analysts believed the fight had already been narrowed down to Romney and Gingrich, these victories are sure to help Santorum earn a second look from voters in the upcoming primaries.