Rick Santorum Suspends Presidential Campaign
GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum announced Tuesday at a conference in his home state of Pennsylvania that he is suspending his campaign, which leaves Mitt Romney as the likely candidate to face off against President Barack Obama in November.
At the conference, Santorum first addressed concerns over his youngest daughter, Bella, who has been battling an illness and was hospitalized last week, and shared that she is a "fighter" and is recovering well.
Earlier on Tuesday, two top advisers of Santorum's campaign announced that it was likely he would shortly be suspending his presidential campaign, The New York Times reported. The former Pennsylvania senator has faced increasing pressure in recent weeks to drop out of the race, as campaign rival Romney has taken a very steady lead in terms of delegates and looks the very likely winner of the GOP presidential nomination.
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Santorum took Monday off to stay with his family and look after Bella, 3, at the hospital. The former senator, who has been seen by many as the conservative choice in the race, had previously vowed he would not be giving up despite Romney's lead. He had also accused Romney of not defending conservative ideals enough, which he promised to make the focal point of his presidency.
Many observers, however, also pointed ahead to the general presidential elections in November, when the Republican Party needs to be united when going up against President Barack Obama.
Santorum's decision to suspend his campaign may also be based on concerns that he may not win the upcoming primary in his home state, which could be seen as a significant blow for any future campaigns.
Ahead of the Pennsylvania primary, Romney canceled an ad that was described as trying to discredit Santorum, out of respect for his rival's family problems.
"We have done this out of deference to Senator Santorum's decision to suspend his campaign for personal family reasons," Romney spokesperson Andrea Saul explained in a brief statement.
Recently, conservative Christian leaders such as Dr. Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission have said that Santorum should consider dropping out of the GOP primary.
"I have not spoken to Rick about this issue, but as his friend, I would advise him to consider getting out of the race at this point," Land shared with The Christian Post last Thursday. "Rick is still a young man and has a bright future in 2016 and beyond."
