BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Reuters) – It turns out that Newt Gingrich will not take “no” for an answer.

A day after finishing second in Republican presidential primaries in Alabama and Mississippi that he had cast as must-wins for his flailing campaign, Gingrich pressed forward on Wednesday, even as calls for him to drop out persisted.

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Reuters) – Newt Gingrich may not be ready to admit it, but his presidential hopes are all but over and calls will be getting louder for him to step aside.

The former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, who had hoped to revitalize his sagging campaign for the Republican presidential nomination with wins in the South, came in a disappointing second in Mississippi and Alabama on Tuesday despite pouring money and time into the two states.

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Reuters) – Republican Rick Santorum won a pair of crucial Deep South primaries on Tuesday, taking control of the party’s conservative wing in the presidential race and dealing a severe setback to rival Newt Gingrich.

Santorum narrowly defeated Gingrich and front-runner Mitt Romney in tight three-way battles that shook up a volatile Republican presidential race that has already seen a series of shifts and stumbles.