Family Research Council President Tony Perkins says Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich could claim a major role in the outcome of the race if he stepped aside.
Perkins’ suggestion comes as some Republicans say a Gingrich withdrawal would allow Rick Santorum to run as the lone conservative against front-runner Mitt Romney.
Perkins, who has shown support for Santorum, wrote on the
Family Research Council's website that Romney isn’t a very popular choice. “If Republicans were hoping for answers, then Super Tuesday was a super disappointment,” he said. “In a fifth of the United States, the only real certainty after last night's primaries is that voters are still looking for Mr. Right.”
Romney’s huge lead in delegates — 415 to 176 for second-place Santorum — reaffirms his front-runner position. “But with next Tuesday's primaries locked in the Midwest and the South [where Romney is weakest], anything is possible,” Perkins wrote.
Outside of Gingrich’s home state of Georgia and Virginia, where neither Gingrich nor Santorum was on the ballot, the former Pennsylvania senator defeated the former House speaker in the eight other Super Tuesday states.
“Gingrich has never been in a more influential position in deciding the outcome of the nomination,” Perkins wrote. “He could be a kingmaker if he stepped out of the race and threw his support to another candidate.”
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