Somehow, Santorum, Newt, and Perry need to whittle that number of three candidates down to one. The only way Romney wins is for the conservative vote to be split 3 or 4 ways.
At some point...and sadly it will probably not be until after South Carolina, some of them need to drop out so the conservative vote can coalese.
At that point however, it is entirely possible that Ronmney will have won all three initial primaries and gaining more strength himself.
Any of the three, Santorum, Perry, or Newt are fine with me. Santorum is strongest on the social/moral issues which are critical. I believe Perry and Newt would be stronger overall leaders.
Until one of them goes one on one against Romney though, they will be hurting themselves, splitting the vote, and opening the door for Romney to win more and more states.
But conservative voters can choose one among the three...and if they are smart enough they could choose Santorum....And Santorum should begin to fight harder and stronger to hit Obamination