With two weeks of campaigning left until the Pennsylvania Primary, Mitt Romney's campaign is ready to roll out almost $2 million in ads against Rick Santorum in his home state, trying to finally end the GOP nomination fight on April 24.
The ad buys by Romney's campaign, combined with those by the Super PAC backing his candidacy put even more pressure on Santorum in the Keystone State, which has basically become a 'last stand' for the former Senator.
Santorum has no events scheduled today as his family was again occupied with the health of their youngest daughter Bella over the Easter weekend.
Santorum's campaign has outlined a steady diet of events in Pennsylvania in coming days, one of five states to vote on April 24 along with New York, Delaware, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
The problem for Santorum with that schedule is pretty simple - most experts give him little chance of winning the other four states - and new polling indicates he may have trouble winning in Pennsylvnia anyway.
A poll from Public Policy Polling released late last week gave Romney a five point edge in the state - the first poll to show an edge for the former Massachusetts Governor, as Santorum has led in all others.
PPP polling labeled the results a "dramatic turnaround" from earlier polls, saying the data shows voters there are "expressing major doubts" about Santorum.
"Only 36% of GOP voters think Santorum has a realistic chance at the nomination to 54% who believe he does not," the PPP poll reported.
Many Republicans have said it is past time to end this primary fight, worried that it could damage the GOP nominee in November.
I am still going to be a contrarian on that point. Four years ago, the somewhat testy battle between Obama and Clinton didn't exactly ruin the Democratic nominee.
And in April of 1980 - 32 years ago - the records show that a guy named George H.W. Bush actually beat Ronald Reagan in the Pennsylvania Primary.
That would be the Bush that labeled Reagan's growth plans "voodoo economics."
That would also be the Bush who turned out to be Reagan's running mate.
And if memory serves me correct, I think they did okay at the ballot box in 1980.
