Political Hotsheet
By

Leigh Ann Caldwell /

CBS News/ April 7, 2012, 2:38 PM

Santorum campaign dismisses calls to drop out

AP Photo/Eric Gay
(CBS News) Despite reports that Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is making moves to end his bid for the Republican nomination, the former Pennsylvania Senator's campaign says it's not true.

"Of course not - no," the Senator is not planning on leaving the race, Santorum spokesperson Hogan Gidley told CBS News.

Gidley said not to read into the extended weekend Santorum is taking to observe Easter. (Front-runner Mitt Romney is also taking a few days off from the campaign trail).

Santorum is also facing a personal challenge as his daughter Bella, who has the often-fatal genetic disorder Trisomy 18, was hospitalized Friday. While Gidley would not comment on Bella's condition, he said Santorum will be back on the campaign trail Tuesday with two events in Pennsylvania.

The campaign emailed the candidate's schedule to reporters Saturday morning to dispel dropout rumors. It is sparse with just one event per day after Tuesday. However, Gidley said the schedule will fill up as the dates get closer. The Pennsylvania primary is April 24.

Gidley noted that Santorum's wife, Karen, and daughter, Elizabeth, will be doing a mother-daughter sweep of the Keystone State next week as well.

As for advertising, the Santorum campaign has not yet purchased any advertising time. Gidley said the campaign plans to do so in Pennsylvania and in other upcoming states soon, but that the campaign is still determining resources and strategy for the April 24 primary states, which also include New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Delaware.

"We'll be up soon," Gidley said about television advertising.

Meanwhile, the Romney campaign has bought $2.9 million of advertising in Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports, which will begin airing Monday.

Santorum met with conservative leaders in the Washington, D.C. area on Thursday to plot a path forward. Leaders who attended said the discussion was not about Santorum dropping out, but about how to win Pennsylvania, which they say is critical to Santorum's success.

Santorum represented Pennsylvania in Congress for 15 years until he lost his Senate reelection bid in 2006.

© 2012 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
29 Comments Add a Comment
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promixrNY says:
Rick Santorum Stars in an 80's New Wave Video : http://digg.com/news/politics/rick_santorum_stars_in_an_80_s_new_wave_video
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rockychance says:
DROP OUT----NO way! Romney outspent Rick by 7 times and only has 41 percent of the vote that has been cast. Romney is nothing but a social big government democrat who likes tax breaks for the rich. We need a man of principles even if we lose. I assure you, I will never vote for Romney and neither will massive numbers of conservatives-even if we cannot stand Obama being in more.
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BWB2020 replies:
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@rockychance

"...Romney is nothing but a social big government democrat who likes tax breaks for the rich..."

That is all any of the so-called "conservatives" are. They just like to add a healthy dose of racism in the mix to differentiate themselves.
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rc00213 says:
Mitt Romney's Fully Documented Liberal Left-Wing Social and Fiscal Record

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2869366/posts?page=10
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BWB2020 replies:
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Nothing at all wrong with being liberal left wing.

In fact, it is a label of pride for civilized, more evolved, thinking humans.

The problem is that baggers think that anything to the left of Hitler and Mussolini is radical left wing. They even love liberal spending, as long as it is for war, even unnecessary wars, and they really love corporate subsidies.

They just borrow the funding, then renege on the debt, rather than raise tax revenue to pay for it.

Even Nixon, who was well known as a right wing politician, would be considered a radical leftist by today's baggers, his trip to China, and the wage-price freeze he put in place in order to keep his decoupling of the dollar from the treasury gold from causing hyper-inflation, would have today's baggers messing their panties.

So baggers can whine all they want, but what they cannot do is show how they are any better than their more centrist, or leftist counterparts.

It is as if the baggers somehow think that the rich will let a few crumbs drop from their table.

Hasn't happened yet, even these thirty plus years after Reagan promised it would trickle down.

Suckers the lot.
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kakienlevie says:
http://bewarehalaustin.wordpress.com/about/
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BWB2020 says:
Santorum (n.) knows that he will not become the nominee, but he takes it upon himself to remind the baggers out there that the Current president is an:

"Anti-war, Government nig... uhh, fff, uhh, America was the source of etc.,"

... and to remind the racists that they have a sympathetic ear in the GOP.

I predicted this would happen shortly after Mr. Obama assumed office, and it is already happening.

You can expect to hear at least one more "mistake" from the GOP, probably from "the noun", and especially if their numbers start to look like losing by a wide margin.
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unclebernies says:
Santorum may be the last hope the Repubs have. Romney dosen't stand a chance because he stands for nothing. You can't run on nothing. Romney is just a rich dude that thinks he should be ordained president
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unclebernies says:
People please the man has the right to run his campaign the way he wishes. He is a conservative and he is proving what a moron flip flopper Romeny is. Is that such a bad thing.
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stupidrules3 replies:
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Getting your butt kicked proves a lot doesn't it?
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aintfakin says:
am I president yet mommy?
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FormerUSMCSergeant says:
Obama must be applauding Santorum for the assistance in forcing Romney to burn up funds....
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Zann-Zel replies:
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DJ that might have hurt the Democratic Party - IF McCain hadn't chosen an airhead for his Vice President! ; )
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msay3 says:
Santorum is beating a dead horse!! Why doesn't he gracefully withdraw and save himself and his family a lot of ridicule???
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FormerUSMCSergeant replies:
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Delusions of grandeur.....
aintfakin replies:
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too late
he certainly has my ridicule
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