Super Tuesday: how Rick Santorum came within a whisker of derailing Romney "We are not in this thing because I so badly want to be the most powerful man in this country, but because I want so badly to return the power to you," he said, to one of the loudest cheers in the night. But in truth, everyone gathered around the televisions in the cafeteria at Steubenville's High School which had hosted Mr Santorum's rally, knew that it was Ohio that really mattered. Even as Romney's campaign machine pointed to the "delegate arithmetic" that made their candidate the favourite, it was clear that a victory in Ohio would have overridden maths. Long after Mr Santorum had finished speaking, his supporters stood staring up at the screens, shuffling their feet and chewing on finger nails as if watching the closing minutes of a vital ball game. "Everything is at stake here," said Vincetta Tsouris, "Santorum's the one who understands us, while people like Mitt Romney just forget about us. He just has to win. Many pundits agreed: victory in the Buckeye State would have confirmed what the Santorum campaign had been saying all week: that Mitt Romney, a multi-millionaire management consultant who spent $12 million blitzing the state with negative advertisements - is not a man who can stir the heart and soul of America. Even by 11pm, some four hours after the first results arrived, the Santorum dream was still flickering with life, as the results ticker showed the former Pennsylvania senator still a few thousand votes clear with 86 per cent of districts reporting. But it was not to be. The Santorum campaign might have been within touching distance of the finish line, but with 90 per cent of the votes counted Mr Romney pulled ahead for the first time, inching 5,000 votes clear at 11.05pm thanks to an influx of votes from the urban counties where he was strongest. It was over. Not even the presence of four Franciscan nuns, who had come down from their convent to support Mr Santorum, a strongly conservative Catholic, could overturn the dawning reality that victory had slipped from their candidate's grasp at the last. Slowly, the last remaining supporters moved for the exits, disappointment mixing with defiance. "Yeah, it sure is heartbreaking," said a 52-year-old Bill Weiss "but when it's this close, in this many big states, Santorum's not going anywhere, you can bet on that."