An outspoken social conservative, Santorum at times seemed to let his opposition to single-parent families and children born out of wedlock overshadow his economic pitch. At a weekend campaign stop in Lima, Ohio, he said lack of attention to family dysfunction and other social issues was "damning" people.
But Santorum's consistent, values-laden message again helped him outperform Mitt Romney in key segments of the Republican electorate.
In Ohio, born-again or evangelical Christians give Santorum a double-digit lead, according to exit polls taken for The Associated Press and the television networks. Likewise, those who say it matters a great deal that a candidate shares their religious views gave Santorum a lead of about 30 points.
Gingrich's sole victory in Georgia breathed some new life into a candidacy that has gone winless since South Carolina weeks ago.
He had originally planned to campaign extensively in Ohio as well as Tennessee, but dialed back when it became clear a win in Georgia was the best and most realistic outcome he could hope for. The win offered some plausibility to his all-Southern strategy, which will be tested anew in primaries in Alabama and Mississippi next week.
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Associated Press writers Kasie Hunt in Boston, Tom Beaumont in Atlanta and Steve Peoples in Steubenville, Ohio, contributed to this report.
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