After an Easter weekend spent dealing with the health troubles of his youngest daughter Bella, Rick Santorum announced today that he is suspending his campaign for the White House, leaving Mitt Romney's path to the GOP nomination even more clear.
Speaking to reporters and backers in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Santorum said in a somewhat resigned voice that "the Presidential race is over for me."
"We will suspend our campaign effective today," Santorum said, adding, "we are not done fighting."
Mitt Romney quickly issued a statement of praise for Santorum:
"Senator Santorum is an able and worthy competitor, and I congratulate him on the campaign he ran. 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."
The move came two weeks before the Pennsyvlania Primary, which had been seen as the last ditch firewall for Santorum - his home state.
Instead, the Keystone State should be another victory for Mitt Romney, who can now move to make this more about the general election - though Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul will certainly argue that they can still make a difference in this race.
As for Gingrich - he said Santorum had "waged a remarkable campaign. His success is a testament to his tenacity and the power of conservative principles."
But Gingrich wasn't quitting as he put a new graphic on his web site trying to capitalize on Santorum's exit.
“I am committed to staying in this race all the way to Tampa so that the conservative movement has a real choice. I humbly ask Senator Santorum’s supporters to visit Newt.org to review my conservative record and join us as we bring these values to Tampa. We know well that only a conservative can protect life, defend the Constitution, restore jobs and growth and return to a balanced budget."
Other Republicans though said it was clearly time to rally behind Romney as the standard bearer of the GOP.
"Mitt Romney will be our party's nominee and it is critical that all Republicans coalesce behind Governor Romney and focus on electing him as President so he can put the policies in place to create jobs, turn our economy around and get federal spending under control," said Gov. Rick Scott of Florida.
IN THE BLUE CORNER
Also weighing in was the Obama re-election campaign, as Campaign Manager Jim Messina couldn't resist using the Santorum developments to take a few shots at Mitt Romney:
"It’s no surprise that Mitt Romney finally was able to grind down his opponents under an avalanche of negative ads. But neither he nor his special interest allies will be able to buy the presidency with their negative attacks. The more the American people see of Mitt Romney, the less they like him and the less they trust him. While calling himself the ‘ideal candidate’ for the Tea Party, he has promised to return to the same policies that created the economic crisis and has alienated women, middle class families, and Hispanic Americans. Americans value a President who will fight every day to rebuild an economy in which hard work will pay, responsibility is rewarded and everyone plays by the same rules. And that President is Barack Obama."
