Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is seeking a victory from caucuses in Kansas as he tries to dispel talk that the GOP nomination all but belongs to front-runner Mitt Romney.

The voting Saturday at 96 locations across the state determines how the state GOP allocates its 40 delegates to the Republican National Convention.

Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, had three rallies in Kansas in the three days leading up to its caucuses. They were in Topeka, Wichita and the Kansas City area, all rich in votes.

He told supporters in the state that winning in Kansas was important to his efforts to overcome the advantage in delegates held by Romney, a former Massachusetts governor.

But some Kansas Republicans see Romney’s nomination as inevitable.