US Republican Presidential Hopefuls to Address Conservative Activists

Three candidates for the U.S. Republican Party's presidential nomination appear Friday before a gathering of conservative activists in Washington..

The appearances of Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference comes days after Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, swept the nominating contests of Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado.
The victories boosted Santorum's standing as a legitimate candidate, while raising new doubts about Romney's ability to attract conservatives to his campaign.

Gingrich's status as the more conservative alternative to ex-Massachusetts Governor Romney has fallen since losing badly to Romney in the Florida nominating contest. The former House speaker finished a distant third in Colorado and fourth in Minnesota. He was not on the ballot in Missouri.
The other remaining Republican presidential candidate, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, will not speak before the CPAC attendees.