Santorum: ‘It’s Game-On Again’

Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Rick Santorum, who is being projected by the news networks to have come in third in the South Carolina primary, was interviewed tonight on CNN — an appearance done even before his own official speech to supporters.

“Congratulations to Newt, it’s a great victory for him. He staked his flag here in South Carolina, said he had to win here — and he kicked butt. And I give him a lot of credit, I’m proud of him for what he accomplished,” said Santorum. “You know the great narrative of this is that three days ago there was an inevitability in this race. Mitt Romney was 2 and 0, and it was soon to be 3 and 0. And I took Iowa, Newt took South Carolina, and it’s game-on again. And I can’t be more excited for the opportunity now to see this campaign go on. and we’re gonna have it go on for a long time.”

Santorum was also asked about the belated declaration of his victory in the Iowa caucuses, which had previously been called for Romney. “Well you know, we didn’t get the bump that we really had hoped for out of Iowa,” he said. “We did well, but we didn’t win. And yesterday they determined we won — not quite in time for us to get the kind of bounce that we wanted.”

He did, however, say that he was starting to pick up more momentum, predicting that it would carry over into other states in the primary race.

“This is a long race. and this is one of the things that I think people have to understand. As a result of what happened here tonight, this race isn’t gonna be over next week, or the week after. This race is gonna be a long one — and it’s gonna be the best thing that can happen for whoever the eventual Republican nominee is, because that nominee is gonna be sharpened by steel. They’re gonna have the opportunity over the next several weeks and months to be able to make the case to the American public, and prove their own ability to beat Barack Obama. And I feel very comfortable as people keep examining the candidates over that period of time, that we’ll do exceptionally well, and we’ll come out on top.”

Latest Livewire
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: