Santorum the anti-Romney candidate?

Can Rick Santorum win the nomination? Yes, but he'll need help-specifically from Newt Gingrich. Mitt Romney needs as many conservatives to stay in the race through the Florida primary to split enough votes so he can win in the Sunshine State. Certainly Romney did well in Iowa and will win New Hampshire but it is very possible that he will lose in South Carolina and Florida to Rick Santorum.

Gingrich has already said he'll do whatever it takes to take Mitt Romney down. He sees Romney as a closet liberal and can't stand the idea that a conservative wouldn't be nominated by the GOP in a year in which the incumbent Democrat is so vulnerable. If Santorum can demonstrate some strength in New Hampshire I believe it is likely that most conservative GOP voters will turn to him as a reliable second choice instead of others they may favor.

Santorum's 99 county Iowa strategy really paid off. He camped out in the state for months forming strong relationships with the community and rose to the top when other conservatives fell by the wayside. And now, with so many GOP activists paying close attention (especially through the internet) they can quickly make a decision to vote for the former senator from Pennsylvania. Not only that, he'll be able to raise a few million dollars to make him competitive in South Carolina and Florida.

Romney should be very wary of Santorum. He's smart, able to answer any question and is absolutely unafraid to engage anybody. Romney won the Iowa caucus with 25% of the vote. That means that 75% of Republicans voted against him and most GOP voters around the country are still willing to change their minds and vote for a different candidate. That different candidate may indeed be Rick Santorum.

If Rick Santorum won the nomination and picked Marco Rubio that would be a formidable pair. A young, dynamic team from two swing states would be very tough to beat in the general election. Certainly Santorum has problems (and surely they will be revealed by the media if he's successful) but conservatives will probably put their fears aside in the hope of beating the President. Simply put, he fits what most GOP voters want; he's conservative and he's competitive and will put up a strong fight to win the nomination and the election.

Sincerely,

The Snitch