NASHVILLE (AP) — Short on money and staff, Rick Santorum needs help to remain a viable threat to front-runner Mitt Romney in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. One strategist hopes it will come from another rival, Newt Gingrich.
Top adviser John Brabender says Santorum’s future may depend upon Gingrich leaving the race. The former House speaker is showing no signs of bowing out, certainly not before Super Tuesday’s voting.
Brabender says Santorum would win the nomination if all the conservatives and tea party supporters backed him as the one candidate against Romney.
Santorum and Gingrich are appealing for support from the same bloc of conservative voters. In Michigan, where Gingrich didn’t actively compete, the former speaker earned 6 percent of the vote. Romney beat Santorum by roughly 3 percentage points.
