Santorum nudges Gingrich to leave GOP race

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Rick Santorum nudged rival GOP presidential contender Newt Gingrich to step aside Sunday, arguing that a head-to-head Santorum-Mitt Romney contest should "occur sooner rather than later."

A defiant Gingrich predicted victories in Tuesday's primaries in Alabama and Mississippi and called Romney the weakest Republican front-runner in nearly a century.

Santorum, on NBC's "Meet the Press," said Gingrich's recent stretch of weak showings suggests he has few options left in the race. Gingrich placed third in caucuses in Kansas on Saturday and dead last in Wyoming, whose caucuses Romney won easily on Saturday.

"The speaker can stay in as long as he wants, but I think the better opportunity to make sure that we nominate a conservative is to give us an opportunity to go head-to-head with Governor Romney at some point and hopefully that will occur sooner rather than later," Santorum said. But he added he wasn't directly asking Gingrich to get out.

Santorum, who has battled to be Romney's chief rival, burnished his standing with a decisive win in Kansas. The former Pennsylvania senator also carried contests last week in Oklahoma and Tennessee, giving him a toehold in the South.

Losing Alabama and Mississippi would spell the end for Gingrich. The former House speaker's lone primary wins have been in South Carolina and Georgia, a state he represented in Congress for 20 years.

A win for Romney in Alabama, where polling shows a tight contest between all three, could all but bring the nominating contest to a close.