Election 2012: A Pennsylvania primary without Santorum

When Rick Santorum ended his race for the Republican presidential nomination two weeks ago, he left no one behind. At least, that's what it seems like. Before the Pennsylvania primary on Tuesday, I tried reaching someone — anyone — at his campaign headquarters in Verona, Pennsylvania. No one was there — or, at least, no one answered the phone.

Voters, too, seemed to have moved on. Pennsylvania is Santorum's home state, he was a United States Senator here for 12 years, and he was expected to give Mitt Romney a challenging race here. But before the election, many primary voters expressed they would not vote for  Santorum, even though he was still on the ballot. At the polls yesterday, one voter commented, "We need a fresh alternative to Rick Santorum." Another said, "I might vote for Rick. He is a viable candidate."

Santorum had a strong showing in Pennsylvania, all things considered. He finished second with 18.3 percent of the vote. Romney won the state with 58 percent of the vote, but Santorum finished ahead of the two other candidates still in the race, Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich.

Santorum's exit from the presidential race earlier this month was abrupt. He was second in delegates, and he needed some big wins to challenge Romney. But he could have taken his delegates to the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, and given Romney a greater challenge to the nomination. Some say he left the race because his family came first, and that is very sensible. Others believe he is a man conviction, and he could be a strong candidate for Vice President.

But right now, all we know is many Pennsylvania Republicans have moved on from Rick Santorum's surprising run at the nomination. Who knows? Maybe he'll make another charge in 2016.

For more on the Pennsylvania primary, check out Kid Reporter Katelyn Barr's story about voters in the state. And for the results of the Pennylvania primary, check out the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps website! 

—Kid Reporter Matthew Moore