Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum on Tuesday abruptly suspended his presidential campaign, ending an improbable but surprisingly effective bid for the Republican nomination and all but guaranteeing that front-runner Mitt Romney will be the party’s nominee this fall.
“While this presidential race for us is over, for me, and we will suspend our campaign effective today, we are not done fighting,” Santorum said, surrounded by his family in Gettysburg, Pa.
Santorum never directly detailed what prompted his exit from the race, but campaign aides said the political reality was impossible to ignore any longer, though he talked about the health of his daughter, Bella, who was hospitalized again because of a rare genetic condition.
But Santorum was far behind Romney in the convention delegate count and facing a potentially embarrassing defeat in his home state in two weeks, something that could have sullied his otherwise successful bid and any future political plans he might have.
Santorum’s campaign defied expectations, growing from an afterthought at the onset of the GOP nominating contest in Iowa to victories there and in 10 other states since January. Santorum built his candidacy around fervent support from evangelical and rural voters who embraced his message of faith and family even while the issues of the economy and jobs dominated the campaign.
“This race was as improbable as any race you will ever see for president,” he said. “Against all odds, we won 11 states.”
Santorum did not endorse Romney but did call the front-runner before announcing his exit. It’s unclear when — or if — Santorum will endorse Romney.
“Gov. Romney has called Rick and asked for a meeting to discuss an endorsement,” said Santorum spokesman Hogan Gidley. “We will see how that goes in the next couple days.”
With his chief Republican rival gone, Romney is now expected to focus his resources on what should prove a bruising and expensive general election campaign against President Obama.
Senator Santorum is an able and worthy competitor, and I congratulate him on the campaign he ran.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) April 10, 2012
“Sen. Santorum is an able and worthy competitor, and I congratulate him on the campaign he ran,” Romney said. “We both recognize that what is most important is putting the failures of the last three years behind us and setting America back on the path to prosperity.”
The Obama campaign said Santorum’s exit was just another example of Romney and his deep-pocketed super-PAC overwhelming the competition financially.
“It’s no surprise that Mitt Romney finally was able to grind down his opponents under an avalanche of negative ads,” said Obama Campaign Manager Jim Messina. “The more the American people see of Mitt Romney, the less they like him and the less they trust him.”
After Santorum’s withdrawal, calls intensified for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to quit so conservatives could coalesce behind Romney. But Gingrich vowed to continue to the party’s convention in August and urged Santorum’s supporters to back him instead.
Despite a lack of funds and organization, Santorum proved the most resilient of the conservative candidates to challenge Romney, who many in the party consider too moderate. But by April, even the party’s most conservative voters were bolting for Romney, citing the likelihood that he would be the nominee.
Still, given Santorum’s appeal to social conservatives, he is expected to be on Romney’s shortlist of potential running mates.
| Santorum’s ‘improbable’ campaign |
| June 2011: Announces his candidacy on the steps of the Somerset, Pa., courthouse. |
| January 2012: Declared the winner in Iowa two weeks after caucus organizers mistakenly declared Mitt Romney the winner. |
| Feb. 7: Emerges as the conservative alternative to Romney after winning Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota. |
| Feb. 28: Loses Michigan, missing a chance to beat Romney in his home state and to prove he had broad enough appeal to win nomination. |
| March 6: Wins Tennessee, Oklahoma and North Dakota, but loses to Romney in Ohio, missing his last best chance to redefine the race. |
| March 13: Squashes Newt Gingrich’s hopes of dominating the South by winning Alabama and Mississippi. |
| April 6: Takes a break from campaign to be with his daughter Bella, who was hospitalized with rare disease. Insists he isn’t quitting. |
| April 10: Suspends his presidential campaign. |
