Mr Santorum won Minnesota with 44%, of the vote, 17 points ahead of his closest rival in the state, Ron Paul. Mr Romney won 19% of the Mid-Western state's vote.
In Colorado, a state Mr Romney was favoured to win, the former Massachusetts governor lost to Mr Santorum by 5%, 40% to 35%.
While he succeeded in all three states, Mr Santorum was not allocated any delegates in Missouri, where Tuesday's result was dubbed a "beauty contest". It will actually award its delegates via caucuses held next month.
Pitching himself as the only true conservative in the race, Mr Santorum had campaigned hard in Minnesota and Missouri - states with significant blocs of Tea Party and evangelical Christian voters respectively.
Polls showed him performing well, and predicted the possibility he would win in either or both states. But while Mr Romney's team had sought to manage expectations, they still retained hopes of a Colorado victory.
The former Pennsylvania senator, who had not won a contest since his narrow win in Iowa's caucuses in January, has been viewed as a long-shot candidate.
Tuesday's victories will inject new momentum into his campaign, as he hopes to displace Mr Gingrich as Mr Romney's main challenger.
Mr Gingrich told CNN: "I think the big story coming out tonight is going to be that it's very hard for the elite media to portray Governor Romney as the inevitable nominee after tonight's over."
In Colorado, a state Mr Romney was favoured to win, the former Massachusetts governor lost to Mr Santorum by 5%, 40% to 35%.
While he succeeded in all three states, Mr Santorum was not allocated any delegates in Missouri, where Tuesday's result was dubbed a "beauty contest". It will actually award its delegates via caucuses held next month.
Mitt Romney congratulated Rick Santorum, but vowed to press on
Polls showed him performing well, and predicted the possibility he would win in either or both states. But while Mr Romney's team had sought to manage expectations, they still retained hopes of a Colorado victory.
The former Pennsylvania senator, who had not won a contest since his narrow win in Iowa's caucuses in January, has been viewed as a long-shot candidate.
Tuesday's victories will inject new momentum into his campaign, as he hopes to displace Mr Gingrich as Mr Romney's main challenger.
Mr Gingrich told CNN: "I think the big story coming out tonight is going to be that it's very hard for the elite media to portray Governor Romney as the inevitable nominee after tonight's over."
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