(Image Credit: Jeff Roberson/AP) 
 
 MCKINNEY, Texas - After stunning victories in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado Tuesday night, GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum told a group of pastors here today that despite his focus on "the role of family in our society," he is not running to be "pastor in chief" and that clergy should be working harder. 
 
 "It's not because I want to be the pastor of the United States," he said. "I have no intention and no desire to be the pastor of this country. There are pastors all over here who, you know, you guys can do a little better than you're doing right now, I'll be honest with you," Santorum said before asking for an "Amen" from the crowd. 
 
 "We could be doing a little better out there in the churches, but I'm leaving that to you, all right? But that doesn't mean I'm not going to stand and fight for the things that are consistent with what this country was founded upon, which was a moral foundation," Santorum said. 
 
 He briefly mentioned his victories Tuesday night, saying he consistently benefits from being underestimated. He beat Mitt Romney 2-1 in Missouri, which awarded no delegates. 
 
 "I got elected to the United States Congress. After these elections, I looked back and I just had to thank God, because there's no way I should have won this election," the former Pennsylvania senator said. "One of the great gifts that I've had in my political career is that no one ever thinks that I could ever win anything. The gift of being underestimated is a wonderful gift. I think you may have seen a little bit of that last night." 
 
 The owner of the event space - the Bella Donna chapel - a Santorum supporter, started inviting pastors from the Dallas area about a week ago to hear the former congressman speak. 
 
 About 100 clergy packed into the small chapel, while an overflow tent next door was open to the public and held several hundred despite the cold temperatures. 
 
 Santorum, 53, greeted the crowd and on his way out told a mass of reporters trailing him that his campaign had raised $400,000 in the past two days. 
 
 The main reason for traveling to Texas, despite no upcoming primary, is for the candidate to attend a fundraiser in the Dallas area. An aide Tuesday evening told ABC News the state is "very generous," and donors here were excited to meet him. 
 
 The address was notably devoid of much political discussion, although he did accuse President Obama of restricting Americans' right to freedom of religion, as he has since the Department of Health and Human Services controversial decision last week to require all institutions that provide health insurance, including Catholic hospitals and universities, to cover contraception and emergency contraception. 
 
 "We even see the Obama administration right now not talking about freedom of religion," Santorum said. "They now start using the term freedom of worship, which, how many people think all that religion is all about is worship? It's what you're about every single day. It's not just the freedom to gather and worship, but it's the freedom to go out and live that faith every day." 
 
 As he usually does when addressing churches and religious groups, he spoke about his personal testimonial and religious awakening, telling the group he "didn't realize how dry and parched" he was when he first came to Congress and began attending bible study groups. 
 
 He told the story of the son he lost a few hours after birth in 1996 named Gabriel and spoke about his 3-year-old daughter, Bella, who suffers from the rare, genetic condition, Trisomy 18. 
 
 Santorum and members of the audience were clearly emotional and the crowd was rapt, hanging on to every word. 
 
 Bella was admitted to the hospital two weeks ago with a grave case of double pneumonia. She was released a few days ago and the group today presented Santorum with a painting of his daughter with angel wings that will hang in the chapel, a space made to look like a Roman church. 
 
 He also brought up how he got involved in work to restrict abortion rights and when he first entered the Senate it was not an issue he was particularly passionate about, especially because it was a risky political move. 
 
 "You can be the most conservative person ever. You can even vote pro-life," Santorum said. "You can vote against everything, you can vote for no government, and you're fine. But once you speak out on the moral issues, you now have your head above and out of the trench and you are going to be shot at. 
 
 "And that's why most members of Congress won't talk about it. They'll vote that way, but they will not go out and talk about this issue. Unless it's in front of a pro-life group, and then the press gives you a pass. But to actually do anything, then you were a theocrat, you were the pastor in chief. You are this radical that wants to try to force your views on everybody else and try to moralize everybody, when all you're doing is standing up for the dignity of every human life. But that doesn't matter. It's one thing to vote that way, but it's another thing to get out and talk about those issues." 
 
 He also addressed the California Proposition 8 ruling for the first time, which found the state's ban on same sex marriage unconstitutional. 
 
 He said the decision read as though anyone who opposes same-sex marriage is "bigot." 
 
 "Where's the tolerance in that?" Santorum asked, calling the decision the "intolerance of the left." 
 
 "They want their world view and if you question them, you're haters, bigots," Santorum said. 
 
 At the end, the group surrounded the candidate, extended their hands and began praying for his health, safety and candidacy. ||||| ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 Rick Santorum's supporters, the morning after their candidate pulled out three Super Tuesday victories, began to apply serious pressure to Newt Gingrich to bow out of the presidential race -- arguing the former speaker is standing in the way of a fair fight between Santorum and Mitt Romney. 
 
 Santorum won Oklahoma, Tennessee and North Dakota on Super Tuesday, and in terms of the delegate count is in a solid second place. 
 
 The super PAC supporting the former Pennsylvania senator claimed Wednesday that Santorum -- who was overshadowed by Romney's victories in Ohio and five other states -- would have had a much bigger night had it not been for Gingrich's presence. Gingrich kept his campaign alive by winning Georgia Tuesday. 
 
 "With Gingrich exiting the race it would be a true head-to-head race and conservatives would be able to make a choice between a consistent conservative in Rick Santorum or Mitt Romney," Stuart Roy, an adviser to the Santorum-backing Red, White and Blue Fund, said in a statement. 
 
 "For instance, with Gingrich out of the race, Santorum would have won both Ohio and Michigan. Newt has become a hindrance to a conservative alternative." 
 
 As Santorum's supporters pressured Gingrich, Romney's campaign touted its newly expanded delegate advantage on Wednesday. One Romney adviser claimed it would take an "act of God" for Gingrich or Santorum to catch that lead. 
 
 Gingrich, though, made clear that he plans to press forward. 
 
 "We are staying in this race because I believe it will be impossible for a moderate to win the general election," Gingrich said Wednesday in Montgomery, Ala., referencing Romney. 
 
 As for Santorum, Gingrich said: "There is a big difference between being a good team member and changing the game. I'm not going to Washington to be a good team member. I'm going to Washington to change Washington itself." 
 
 Gingrich said Tuesday at his post-election rally in Atlanta that he's not going to let the "elite" decide the nomination, ridiculing those who declared his campaign "dead" over the summer before he won South Carolina in January -- and suggesting he is ripe for another surge. 
 
 Gingrich claimed the media are depicting Santorum as the "non-Romney" candidate because they are desperate to push him out, but added: "I'm the tortoise. I just take one step at a time." 
 
 The former House speaker earned words of encouragement Tuesday night from the GOP's 2008 vice presidential nominee. Sarah Palin, though she has not formally endorsed a candidate, told Fox News that she cast her ballot for Gingrich in the Alaska caucuses Tuesday. She praised his energy policy as "spot on," acknowledging he is the "underdog" in the race. Gingrich placed fourth in the four-man race in Alaska. 
 
 GOP strategist Ed Rollins suggested Gingrich would not be swayed by calls to bow out. "At the end of the day, no one tells Newt to quit," Rollins said. 
 
 However, Rollins said, "Unfortunately, the tortoise may get run over by a truck." 
 
 Santorum is already moving aggressively into the southern states Gingrich wants to target in order to regain his footing. The Santorum campaign on Wednesday is going up with $1 million ad buys in Alabama and in Mississippi, which hold primaries next week. 
 
 Gingrich is banking on a string of victories in southern states, after having won South Carolina and Georgia. Underscoring that approach, his campaign has cancelled stops in Kansas ahead of that state's caucuses, and plans on staying in Mississippi and Alabama to campaign, Fox News has learned. The campaign claimed it made the "tactical" decision in order to focus on primary states instead of caucus states -- and push for a "bigger win" there. 
 
 But the Santorum super PAC argued that Gingrich does not have the "southern appeal" he claims, counting as evidence Santorum's win Tuesday night in Tennessee. In total, Santorum has won seven states to Gingrich's two. 
 
 Romney, meanwhile, racked up the wins Tuesday night in Ohio, Vermont, Virginia, Idaho, Alaska and Massachusetts. 
 
 Coming out of Super Tuesday, Romney has a big delegate lead with 415. Santorum trails with 176. Behind those two candidates are Gingrich with 105 and Ron Paul with 47. 
 
 Santorum strategist John Brabender claimed Tuesday night that some of those delegates linked to Gingrich could still shift to Santorum, because they "aren't necessarily binding delegates." 
 
 Nudging Gingrich, he said that "if conservatives and Tea Party supporters unite behind Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney will not be the nominee." 
 
 Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond fired back, saying the "same logic applies in reverse -- I am officially calling for John Brabender to drop out and stop selling a pipe dream."
– That triple bogey must have stung: Mitt Romney made a point to call out Rick Santorum by name today. Speaking to reporters in Atlanta, Romney said Santorum and Newt Gingrich were part of the Republican party that "lost its way" by spending too much federal money while in office, reports CNN. "In this race, I'm the only guy that hasn't spent time in Washington," he said. "And Senator Santorum and Speaker Gingrich, they are the very Republicans who acted like Democrats." Santorum, for his part, spoke to a group of pastors in Texas and said he has "no desire to be pastor of this country," notes ABC News. "But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to stand and fight for the things that are consistent with what this country was founded upon, which was a moral foundation." He also alluded to his big night: "The gift of being underestimated is a wonderful gift." Rush Limbaugh, meanwhile, took delight in pointing out how "shocked" the GOP establishment was after Santorum's wins, which he says only proves "how insulated they are," reports Politico.