Rick Santorum “suspended” his campaign for President on April 10th, just before the primaries in his home state of Pennsylvania. Mr. Santorum won 11 states in his campaign, in either primaries or caucuses, and was the most enduring candidate behind frontrunner Mitt Romney. He has been forced to abandon his campaign in order to deal with family issues and because Mitt Romney has a large advantage in fundraising and electoral votes. Despite other holdouts in the Republican race, Romney is viewed as the one who will challenge Democratic candidate Obama. Santorum did not say whether or not he would endorse the frontrunner.
Santorum was campaigning in his home state when he announced that he was pulling out of the race. The state was far from enamored of Santorum; in 2006, he lost his Pennsylvania Senate seat by the large margin of 18 points. Analysts predicted that Santorum would likely lose the state for the second time in six years. Romney led Santorum in the state by 5 percentage points, even though Santorum represented the state in Congress for 16 years. With this dramatic loss looming in his own state, Santorum ceded the contest.
Aside from Pennsylvania, Santorum was not raising enough money to match Romney’s large funds. By the end of September, Romney had raised 14.2 million dollars, while Santorum was not even a frontrunner. Romney’s wins entirely trump Santorum’s, and Romney is believed to have wider appeal to moderates and independents. Santorum, however, cited his daughter’s illness as a distraction from his campaign. He “suspended” his campaign the day his three year old daughter, who has been diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Trisomy 18, was released from the hospital into her parents’ care.
Other candidates remaining in the Republican race include Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul. Gingrich, who won the South Carolina primary, has not been a serious contender but insists that he will stay in the running in order to offer Republicans a more conservative option. Texas Congressman Ron Paul congratulated Santorum on his campaign, but also refuses to pull out of the race, despite having the least number of electoral votes of any Republican candidate currently running.
Santorum did not endorse Mitt Romney’s campaign. He has stated publicly that he dislikes Romney and does not think that he is the right choice for the Republican nomination. However, despite the fact that primaries are right around the corner in Santorum’s home state, the former senator’s endorsement would not necessarily be beneficial to Romney. Romney has not chosen a candidate to be on the ticket with him (assuming that he wins the Republican nomination, as expected) and due to Santorum’s positions, statements, and actions, it is unlikely that Romney would choose him.