NBC News has declared Rick Santorum as the projected winner of the Kansas Republican presidential caucuses. With more than 70 percent of the precincts reporting, Santorum had 53 percent of the vote, with the remainder scattered among his rivals Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas.

With 40 delegates at stake in Kansas, Santorum’s victory will give him momentum as he and the other GOP presidential hopefuls sprint towards Tuesday’s primaries in Alabama and Mississippi.

Santorum seeks to squeeze Gingrich out of the race, leaving the former Pennsylvania senator as the sole alternative to Romney, who leads in the delegate tally, with 363 delegates, according to the NBC News count, more than three times as many delegates as either Santorum or Gingrich have won.