Tagged: Rick Santorum

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney notched two big wins Tuesday, upping his Republican presidential delegate count and taking modest-plus momentum into the week leading up to Super Tuesday on March 6.

With the Michigan and Arizona primaries in the history books as Romney's fifth and sixth victories, we're looking ahead to Super Tuesday, when presidential contests will be held in 10 states and 413 delegates will be up for grabs.

The star of the show? The hotly contested race in Ohio, where Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney are engaged in a battle royale for its trove of 63 delegates and Midwest bragging rights.

Rick Santorum is trying to shake up the Republican primary by winning the primary Tuesday in Michigan — and many polls show him neck and neck with Mitt Romney. He's a former senator from Pennsylvania best known as a culture warrior. What's less well known is what he did after losing his re-election bid in 2006.

After 16 years in Congress, Santorum found himself in need of a new job. And like so many before him, he found work inside the Beltway. Santorum left Congress, but he never left Washington, though that would be hard to tell just listening to him on the campaign trail.

What's the best way for Mitt Romney to stop Rick Santorum?

For the answer, we went to someone who has done it before.

Democratic strategist Saul Shorr helped Bob Casey defeat then-Sen. Santorum, R-Pa., in a landslide in 2006. Santorum lost by 18 points.

But Shorr says that was a general election; in a Republican primary, Romney will have a much harder job.

"Here's Romney's challenge ... in a lot of these primaries you're dealing with an electorate that's made for Santorum," Shorr says. "They have questions about Romney's conservatism, and they don't have any questions about Santorum's.

"Look, when Romney's folks took out Newt Gingrich ... it was really like shooting fish in the barrel."

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is going to drop out of the Republican race for the White House, sources are telling The New York Times and CNN.

NPR has not independently confirmed the news.

We'll pass along more as the story develops. Perry is expected to hold a news conference at 11 a.m. ET.

Update at 10:25 a.m. ET. Tonight's Debate May Be A Factor In Announcement's Timing:

Supporters of former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum say they weren’t surprised by his near tie for fourth place with Newt Gingrich in New Hampshire’s presidential primary.

Rick Santorum told supporters that he knew New Hampshire would be tough to win.

He focused most of his campaign in Iowa and didn’t spend a lot of money in New Hampshire.

While supporters were disappointed in his finish, Dan Tamburello, state co-chair for Santorum’s campaign, says it wasn’t unexpected.

“it’s not bad, its good enough and good enough means you go on and you’re competitive in South Carolina, and I think we remain extremely competitive in South Carolina.”

The primary trail is busy again, with Iowa in the rearview mirror and just days before Granite Staters cast their votes.

NHPR's Josh Rogers shares the latest from the trail with All Things Considered host Brady Carlson, including what Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum are doing as they hope to build on the results of the Iowa caucuses.

Campaigning in New Hampshire, Republican Mitt Romney accused President Obama of creating a bad business climate.

Romney said the President’s policies are designed to help his political allies more than the country as a whole.

He told voters in Salem that President Obama packed the National Labor Relations Board with union stooges; that he used the stimulus to repay public sector unions, and that the President backed green jobs initiatives to benefit supporters at companies like Solyndra.