Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum need to consider dropping out to support opponent Mitt Romney, says Sen. Jim DeMint.
“They can drag it out to the convention if they want, but I think if some of them look at where they are the best thing they can do is maybe look at throwing their support behind the one who might be our nominee and that’s beginning to look like Romney,” DeMint said of allowing the race to continue to the GOP convention in August.
The South Carolina Republican and tea party favorite tip-toed around flat out endorsing Romney as a candidate, but did say that the possibility of the former Massachusetts governor as the nominee “excited” him,
reports CNN.
“I can tell conservatives from my perspective is that, I’m not only comfortable with Romney, I’m excited about the possibility of him possibly being our nominee,” DeMint said. “Again, this is not a formal endorsement and I do not intend to do that right now but I just think we just need to look at where we are.”
DeMint’s praise comes on the heels of Romney meeting with prominent Republicans on Capitol Hill, including House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan. Both men are considered the golden ticket of endorsements for White House hopefuls.
DeMint, after meeting with Romney Thursday, said that he was “impressed,” pointing to his leadership skills and the fact that he has lived his life outside the beltway as reasons to like the former Massachusetts governor.
“I don’t have any immediate plans to do an endorsement but I think we all need to look at this presidential primary and enourage the candidates to do a little self-reflection here — what’s good for our country,” he said. “The sooner we can make a decision, I think the sooner we can focus on the real problem which is Obama.”
DeMint joins former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who called on the Republican Party to unite behind Romney yesterday.
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