US Presidential Republican candidate Rick Santorum wins his 11th state and compares himself to former US President Ronald Reagan.
Rick Santorum, a socially conservative former US senator from Pennsylvania, has done well in the Deep South, winning Louisiana this weekend and Mississippi and Alabama earlier this month.
Saturday's primary allocated 20 of Louisiana's 46 total Republican delegates as candidates spar for the right to take on Democratic President Barack Obama in the November general election.
Early returns from just a handful of precincts showed Mr Santorum with 40 per cent of the vote, Mitt Romney at 30 per cent and Newt Gingrich at 21.6 per cent.
In Wisconsin, which is one of the next states to vote in the primary, Mr Santorum thanked his supporters.
"Let me just thank everybody for coming out. I just want to say to the people of Louisiana, thank you very much. You have come through and come through in a big way and on behalf of my family and all the people up here who have gathered with us tonight here in Green Bay, Wisconsin," he said.
"I'm not running as a conservative candidate for president. I am the conservative candidate for president," he continued before comparing himself to former US President Ronald Reagan.
"They were telling [Reagan] to get out of the race. He was only hurting the party and he continued to run because this is something more than the party, it's about doing what's right for America, standing up for the principles that will heal this country, that will bring us back together, that will make this country stronger and greater and more free.
"Ronald Reagan fought that battle in 1976 and he did something that had not been done since. As someone who is conservative and running against the Washington establishment, he won 11 states. Well tonight thanks to the great people of Louisiana, we have won our 11th state in this primary fight and I want to thank you doing that."
Mr Reagan lost his 1976 bid for the Republican nomination to Gerald Ford, but in 1980 won the nomination and the US Presidency.
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