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White House hopeful Rick Santorum on Sunday said a win in Minnesota -- where he is leading polls -- could "reset" the Republican race and vowed to push through to the party's August convention.
The social conservative scored an early win last month after a recount handed him 34-vote victory in first-in-the-nation Iowa.
But he failed to carry that momentum, placing at or near the bottom of the narrowing field in New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida and Nevada.
Presumed frontrunner Mitt Romney appeared to have cemented his lead with resounding wins in Florida and Nevada last week, but Santorum told a crowd of supporters that an upset in Minnesota "can stop the streak."
"Minnesota can reset this race," Santorum told the cheering crowd gathered at a winery outside of the town of Waconia.
A poll released Sunday showed Santorum ahead by two points -- which is within the statistical margin of error.
Since Minnesota holds caucuses -- where voters can't just stop by to cast a ballot but must instead show up for a discussion on Tuesday at 7:00 pm (0100 GMT) -- turnout will be key to winning this midwestern state.
"This room can change the course of this election," Santorum told the 300 or so supporters who skipped watching the Super Bowl to hear him speak.
"If everybody in this building gets 10 people, think about the impact you can have on this race."
Santorum, who earlier Sunday spoke at a church service in suburban Minneapolis and visited the rural Minnesota factory that makes his signature sweater vests, stayed more than an hour after his speech to greet and take photos with everyone at the winery.
Approached by AFP, he echoed rival Newt Gingrich's vow to fight to the end.
"Our intention is to win, so of course we're going to take it to the convention," the former US senator from Pennsylvania said in a brief interview.
The Republican establishment hopes the contest will be over well before the August 27-31 convention in Tampa, Florida, avoiding a bitter battle that could hurt the eventual nominee's chances against Democratic President Barack Obama.
Gingrich -- who is trailing both Romney and Santorum in Minnesota, Colorado and Arizona and is in second place in Michigan and Maine after an impressive win in South Carolina -- said Sunday he expects to get back on top by the March 6 'Super Tuesday' contest in which 10 states are at stake.
But neither Gingrich not Santorum appear willing to drop out if they place poorly in what has historically been a deciding vote.
"If we finish in last place in every race, yes, but I don't think we're going to do that," Santorum said when asked if Super Tuesday would make or break his campaign. "I think we're going to do very well."
Santorum said he is hoping to be able to consolidate the support of the Republican party's social conservatives, many of whom are uneasy with Romney's more liberal record as governor of Massachusetts.
Santorum had the support of 29 percent of Minnesota Republicans while Romney won 27 percent in the Public Policy Polling survey released Sunday.
Gingrich was at 18 percent while congressman Ron Paul held 12 percent, the poll showed.
Minnesota is among three heartland states voting on Tuesday, along with Missouri and Colorado.
A separate PPP poll released Sunday showed Romney with 40 percent in Colorado to 26 percent for Santorum, 18 percent for Gingrich and 12 percent for Paul.
A PPP poll conducted a week ago found 45 percent of Missouri voters supported Santorum, while Romney won 34 percent and Paul won 13 percent.
"Tuesday has the potential to be a huge day for both Romney and Santorum," said PPP president Dean Debnam.
"A sweep for Romney would do much to enhance the feeling that he's unstoppable," Debnam said in a press release.
"Wins for Santorum in Minnesota and Missouri would make it clear he's a more viable alternative to Romney than Gingrich and give him a lot of momentum for the road ahead."
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