Here are ten things you need to know today.
- Foster Friess gets behind Romney: Foster Friess, the retired financier who donated $1.7 million to a pro-Santorum super PAC, now says he will back Mitt Romney since Rick Santorum is out. Friess doesn’t know how exactly he’ll help, but “I’ve got some plans as to how I might be able to be of help,” he told Politico. One possiblility, he says, is giving to the biggest GOP super PAC American Crossroads.
- Prominent social conservative group endorses Romney: The National Organization for Marriage, a social conservative organization known for fighting gay marriage, will endorse Mitt Romney on Wednesday, according to Politico. The endorsement will help Romney shore up support among social conservatives and is at least a needed stamp of approval as he works to consolidate the evangelical base that was largely aligned with Rick Santorum.
- After Santorum drops out, a flood of Romney endorsements: Just hours after Rick Santorum dropped out of the race, endorsements began to pour in for Mitt Romney as he has now all but sewn up the nomination. These endorsements include Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, and Florida Gov. Rick Scott.
- Why Santorum dropped out: Santorum campaign sources tell CNN there were three factors that severely hurt the candidate’s chances of getting the nomination: They needed Texas to be winner-take-all, they needed Newt Gingrich to have dropped out, and they needed to win Pennsylvania, which was shifting towards Romney and they couldn’t keep up financially with his ad blitz there. The candidate says the health of his daughter Bella, who was hospitalized last Friday, also played in the decision.
- Crossroads GPS goes up with new anti-Obama ad: The GOP group Crossroads GPS is going up with a new ad attacking President Obama in 6 swing states. The ad attacks Obama for not taking responsibility for rising gas prices. The buy is worth $1.7 million.
- Romney tries to close the gender gap: Recent polls now consistently show a gender gap for Republicans, including Mitt Romney, largely because the campaign has been talking about contraception rather than the economy. The Romney campaign wants to win those voters back. His argument: The Obama economy has failed women.
- Newt says it’s down to him and Romney: Newt Gingrich tried to exploit Santorum’s exit from the race, displaying on his website shortly after the announcement a fundraising button which read “Last Conservative Standing.” Santorum’s exit was bad timing for Gingrich, however, who has already admitted that Romney is “far and away” the most likely contender to get the nomination.
- AZ Democratic Senate candidate raises $800K: Richard Carmona, the former surgeon general under George W. Bush who is running for the Democratic Senate nomination in Arizona, reports having raised more than $800,000 in the first quarter and has $1.1 mil cash on hand. Carmona was battling for the nomination until 2 weeks ago when his opponent dropped out.
- McCaskill raises $2.3 million in first quarter: Sen. Claire McCaskill, who will face a tough reelection campaign in November, raised $2.3 million in the first quarter of 2012 and has almost $6 million cash on hand.
- Romney campaigns in New England: Mitt Romney will hold two events Wednesday, one in Connecticut and one in Rhode Island. Ron Paul has an event scheduled in Texas.
