After a convincing victory in Illinois where he even won segments of self-identified conservatives, Mitt Romney looks to have all the momentum on his side. The delegate math favors the former Massachusetts governor and his nearest rival, Rick Santorum, is running out of time.
Romney has still had problems making inroads in the south, however, and there are a few southern states still to vote. This Saturday, Louisianans go to the polls in their GOP primary. While polling has been light, Santorum has tracked ahead of Romney and looks to pick up another victory - a crucial one that he'll need to continue on with his campaign.
Townhall's Poll Tracker Average has Santorum comfortably ahead with a few days to go - 31% to 22%. The ex-Pennsylvania senator could possibly pick up enough delegates to deny Romney an easy nomination, and winning Louisiana would be key in that road.
After Louisiana, primary contests will be held in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Three weeks later, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Delaware all go to the polls. To put it mildly, this isn't a good set-up for Santorum. Outside of Pennsylvania, he won't be expected to easily win any of these. Louisiana might be Santorum's last chance to build any kind of momentum to carry him through the next wave of primaries - and even then, it'll be tough to hold off the Romney wave of inevitability.