Santorum Urges His Supporters to Reject Another Ford, Dole or McCain
Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum leaves after speaking at the Bella Donna Chapel in McKinney, Texas, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Rex C. Curry)
(CNSNews.com) – Following his clean sweep in Tuesday’s nominating contests in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri on Tuesday, Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum sent his supporters a letter, making the case that he is the true conservative in the race.
“Before I try and get some sleep, I had to sit down and write you this letter,” Santorum wrote. The letter, which included a request for donations, was emailed around 2:30 a.m.
Santorum mentioned Ronald Reagan, who lost eight primaries in the 1976 presidential bid but made it all the way to the nominating convention. It took Reagan a few more years to become the Republican presidential nominee, but Santorum is hoping for a different outcome.
“I can beat Mitt Romney and then President Obama with the kind of conservative ideas that you support,” Santorum said.
“Conservatives face a choice now,” Santorum wrote. “It’s a ‘time for choosing’ for us. Will we choose another Gerald Ford, Bob Dole, or John McCain? Or will we choose a Conservative standard bearer to inspire our party and America along with it?”
Santorum also cited a Rasmussen poll indicating he has the best chance of beating President Barack Obama in a general election.
Addressing his supporters with a “Dear Patriot” salutation, Santorum said his triple victory “shocked the moderate establishment” and defied the predictions of the “media elites.”
Since winning all three contests on Tuesday, the Santorum campaign says it has raised more than $1 million.
But it’s not enough. Santorum plans to do some fund-raising in California over the weekend, then return to the campaign trail in Washington State on Monday. From there, it’s on to Ohio and Michigan.
“We’re always going to have a huge spending gap, but money can’t buy people’s hearts,” Ron Carey, an unpaid Santorum volunteer, told the Associated Press.