Santorum nudges Gingrich to quit
Ex-senator says face-off with Romney should ‘occur sooner’
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum on Sunday nudged rival Newt Gingrich to step aside, arguing a head-to-head contest between himself and Mitt Romney should “occur sooner rather than later.” A defiant Gingrich predicted victories in Tuesday’s primaries in Alabama and Mississippi and called Romney the weakest GOP front-runner in nearly a century.
Santorum and Gingrich were campaigning hard two days before what has become a potentially decisive Southern showdown for the Republican contenders battling to challenge President Barack Obama in the fall.
Losing Alabama and Mississippi would effectively spell the end for Gingrich, who has banked his waning prospects on an all-Southern strategy. The former House speaker’s lone primary wins have been in South Carolina and Georgia, a state he represented in Congress for 20 years.
A win for Romney in Alabama, where polling shows a tight contest between Romney, Gingrich and Santorum, could all but end the GOP nominating contest.
The former Massachusetts governor has built a substantial delegate lead against his rivals but has failed so far to win a state in the deep South, home to the Republican Party’s most dedicated base voters. An Alabama win would be a key breakthrough for Romney among the socially conservative and evangelical voters who have thus far proven resistant to his candidacy.
Santorum, who has battled to be Romney’s chief conservative foe, burnished his standing with a decisive win in Saturday’s caucuses in Kansas. The former Pennsylvania senator also carried contests last week in Oklahoma and Tennessee, giving him a toehold in the South.
On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Santorum said Gingrich’s recent stretch of weak showings suggests he has few options left in the race. Gingrich placed third in Kansas and dead last in Wyoming, whose caucuses Romney won easily Saturday.
“The speaker can stay in as long as he wants, but I think the better opportunity to make sure that we nominate a conservative is to give us an opportunity to go head-to-head with Gov. Romney at some point and hopefully that will occur sooner rather than later,” Santorum said, adding he wasn’t directly asking Gingrich to get out.