Maybe this is why Mitt Romney is having trouble sealing the deal with the GOP nomination. Evangelicals are voting in record numbers this year.

Religion News Service says that evangelical voters have made up half of Republican primary voters so far. More importantly, that group also seems to be supporting Rick Santorum's campaign through time and money.

That 50-percent turnout by evangelicals is the highest rate ever. Evangelicals only made up 44-percent of the Republican electorate during the 2008 primaries.

Faith and Freedom based its analysis on the entrance and exit polling data from 16 primaries and caucuses. The data show that some 4.29 million evangelical Christian voters have cast ballots so far -- or 50.53 percent of the 8.49 million total votes cast.

They are also putting their money where their values are.

Santorum is collecting nearly half of his donations from donors who gave less than $200, according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission filings by the Campaign Finance Institute -- a higher percentage than any of his Republican rivals.

And while Santorum has trailed his rivals in overall fundraising, he may be catching up fast. Politico reported that Santorum raised $9 million in February compared to Romney's $11.5 million, Santorum's best month yet.