Rick Santorum suspended his bid for the presidency in a news conference in Gettysburg, Pa., clearing the path for Mitt Romney to become the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party.
“While this presidential race is over for me and we will suspend our campaign effective today, we are not done fighting,” he said.
He notably did not endorse — or even mention — Romney. The Romney campaign confirmed to TPM that the two spoke before Santorum’s announcement and Santorum spokesman Hogan Gidley said on MSNBC afterwards that the former Senator was “open” to a meeting to discuss potential support.
“Sen. Santorum is an able and worthy competitor, and I congratulate him on the campaign he ran,” Romney said in a statement. “He has proven himself to be an important voice in our party and in the nation. 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.”
Santorum, written off as a long-shot candidate when he announced his run last year, rode a late surge of momentum to win the Iowa caucuses, and eventually became frontrunner Romney’s most serious opponent. Best known for his strident social conservatism, especially his opposition to abortion and gay rights, Santorum rallied base voters skeptical of Romney’s late-life rebirth as a movement conservative.
“Miracle after miracle, this race was as improbable as any you will ever see,” Santorum said. He said he felt his campaign “painted a hopeful positive vision for this country,” a pointed line given frequent criticism from Santorum that Romney had run a scorched earth campaign of attacks.
His decision comes just two weeks before the Pennsylvania primary, where the Romney campaign hoped to knock him out of the race with a humiliating defeat in his home state. Romney’s commanding delegate lead left little doubt he would ultimately prevail either way, and a parade of Republican heavyweights announced their support in recent weeks, including Jeb Bush, Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio, and former President George H.W. Bush.
Santorum had already left the campaign trail this week, canceling his events in order to tend to his hospitalized young daughter, Bella, who suffers from a serious genetic disorder. Romney’s campaign suspended its negative ads in the state attacking Santorum in response.
“This was a time for prayer and thought this past weekend,” Santorum said Tuesday, adding Bella was doing “exceptionally well” and had returned to the family.
With Santorum out of the race, Romney can turn his full attention toward a general election against President Obama, who has used the contested GOP primary to build a massive fundraising advantage. Romney was already moving in that direction, directing virtually all of his public comments toward Obama and raising money jointly with the RNC, which plays a crucial support role for the party nominee.
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