The possibility of a loss in his home state of Pennsylvania might force Rick Santorum to drop out of the Republican primary sooner than he’d planned, say GOP strategists.
Santorum is notoriously strong-willed, and those close to him say that party elders will not be able to convince him to exit the race if he thinks he has a shot at the Republican nomination.
But one of Santorum’s close friends told The Hill that while the former Pennsylvania senator remains confident about winning his home state and using that to build May momentum, if that confidence falters, he might exit the race. Pennsylvania state Sen. Jake Corman (R), a longtime friend of Santorum and his family, said if it appeared Santorum wasn’t going to win the state, the former senator could drop his campaign.
“He’s a realist; he doesn’t have his head in the clouds,” Corman told The Hill. “As long as he sees a pathway to the nomination he’s going to stay in it, but he won’t stay in it to prove a point. If he gets to the point where he doesn’t think he’ll be the nominee, he’ll get out.”
Santorum is running second in the delegate count to rival Mitt Romney, and the party establishment is increasing pressure on the former senator to exit the race and clear a path for the former Massachusetts governor.
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7 Responses
Missing from the article is an analysis of Santorum’s strategy. Here it is:
Santorum believes, as I do, that Romney is a very weak candidate. The only reason he’s ahead is that he’s outspending Santorum 20-15 to 1. Romney is not running on the issues. He’s simply slandering Santorum. In the general election, Obama will have the money advantage over Romney, so it will be Romney’s turn to get slimed.
Santorum is convinced that the only way to beat Obama is to offer a stark contrast on Faith-and-Family issues, which underlie econimic success. Romney is unwilling to do that.
Santorum doesn’t really believe he can get a majority of the delegates coming into the Republican nominating convention.
What he does believe, though, is that he can deny Romney a majority, so that Romney will not win on the first ballot. Then, after the first ballot, the rules allow delegates to choose whomever they want.
Santorum believes that they will choose him as the strionger candidate.
Santorum won’t drop out. Do you want to force him out by posting this article?
Santorum is ahead in some polls by as many as 18 points, so i don’t think he’ll drop out just yet.
Give Me a Break — I’m sure Santorum will be swayed by the fact the YWN reposted an article. Give me a break.
yehudayona,
No, I don’t think he reads YWN. But when potential Santorum voters read this they may see it as throwing in the towel. That could lead to a lessening of support, which would cause him to drop out.
Romney is a weak candidate. He is ahead but he is weak. He only got 41% of the vote yesterday and won by fairly small amounts. He needs to grow up and stop the ads against his opponents and start with ads about himself. No one cares what he thinks about Santorum or Newt. If he wants to win the nomination, we need to be reinforced by him and his views.
NEW PPP POLL TODAY
Pennsylvania: Romney 42, Santorum 37, Paul 9, Gingrich 6:
http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2012/04/romney-takes-the-lead-in-pennsylvania.html