HARRISBURG PATRIOT-NEWS: BY G. TERRY MADONNA AND MICHAEL L. YOUNG
It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. The Pennsylvania primary scheduled for April 24 was to be Rick Santorum’s triumphal return, celebrating his resurgence in national politics after his crushing defeat just six years earlier for re-election to the Senate.
It’s not turning out that way. Instead Santorum is finding himself ensnarled in a nasty dogfight with Mitt Romney that is looking more and more like Santorum’s last stand. Outspent by Romney by margins sometimes approaching 10 to 1, trailing badly in pledged delegates and lacking Romney’s powerful ground operation, Santorum cannot afford to lose his home state.
Yet three polls now show the race to be competitive. Franklin & Marshall, Mercyhurst and Quinnipiac find that Santorum’s once daunting lead over Romney has been erased in less than a month. Why? What has happened to the once-promising campaign that vowed to derail Romney’s presidential hopes and set up a classic conservative vs. moderate battle within the GOP? … (more)
