Rick Santorum Might Not Win Any Delegates In Pennsylvania

With Pennsylvania's primary election coming up next month on April 24th and with 72 delegates at stake, Rick Santorum is eager to win his home state so that he can justify staying in the race. However, victory won't come easy for Santorum because many prominent Republican leaders in Pennsylvania are not thrilled with him as a candidate:

Several interviews with influential members of Santorum’s state party reveal a pervasive dislike for the man running for president without the support of the party’s kingmakers.

Party bosses dislike his zealous pronouncements and extreme social positions.

Fiscal conservatives see him as a big-government, pork-barrel spender.

And some social conservatives question his support of former Sen. Arlen Specter, who supported abortion rights.

The common critique, however, is of Santorum’s hair-trigger volatility, cruel political maneuverings, dismissiveness and notoriously massive ego.

In fact, many insiders in the Pennsylvania Republican party are secretly hoping Rick Santorum will lose so that they can rally around Mitt Romney:

“Party folks are just tolerating [Santorum] and hoping he loses as soon as possible so that they can all get behind Romney,” said a GOP activist who did not want to be identified.   

Rick Santorum appears to be universally disliked in Pennsylvania by nearly every conservative in that state:

Yet from Gov. Tom Corbett to U.S. Sen. Patrick J. Toomey, state GOP Chairman Rob Gleason and on down the political food chain, no major GOP politician in the state has endorsed Mr. Santorum.

Even Alen Specter, who Rick Santorum endorsed in the 2004 because the Bush Adminstration asked him to, refused to endorse him in this election:

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter said Friday that ex-Senate colleague Rick Santorum is “so far to the right” that it’s not realistic for him to win the presidency.

Rick Santorum is not popular among the regular Republican voters in that state as well: 

Pam Todd, 74, a Philadelphia artist and member of the fiscally conservative Tea Party, felt strongly the election should be focused on the economy and defeating Obama, not issues like abortion and gay marriage.

"I feel that perhaps Romney is the most electable. I like Rick very, very much. I admire his guts. But he sometimes gets down in the weeds on the social issues," she said.

"You can really get into the social issues and the country could go over a cliff fiscally," Todd said.

One of the state's main Tea Party groups, the influential Independence Hall Tea Party Association PAC, endorsed Romney in the fight to be the Republican who will face President Barack Obama in November.

"There are a fair number of Republicans who are driven by social issues but they aren't as committed to those issues as economic issues in an election cycle like this one," said Alan Novak, a former chairman of the Pennsylvania Republican Party who is backing Romney.

"The election is really first a referendum on the president, unemployment and gas prices," he said.

Despite the Rick Santorum's unpopularity within the Pennslyvania GOP, party leaders and activists are trying push back against calls to wrap up the GOP nomination process as quickly as possible:

Several activists and state elected officials pushed back on their national counterparts itching to tackle Obama, arguing that the GOP vetting process should continue until Pennsylvanians can vote and even beyond.

“It’s actually going to make the ultimate nominee stronger for having gone through the crucible of a good solid, intense debate, so I think it should continue — if necessary, until the convention,” state Rep. Stephen Bloom, who has not publicly endorsed a candidate, told POLITICO. “As long as the candidates are drawing citizens into the process, getting voters engaged, that’s good. The battle of ideas is a good thing.”

While Rick Santorum currently remains ahead in the polls, its not a guarantee that he will in that state. Even if he does win in Pennsylvania, he may wind up not winning any delegates at all because the delegates are free to vote for anyone they want at the Republican convention. Moreover, Republican leaders and activists are also delegates themselves and given Santorum's unpopularity with Republican leaders and activists, Rick Santorum might have another Phyrric victory in Pennsylvania:

The ranks of delegate hopefuls are littered with Republican state committee members, elected officials and others with close party ties, who will ultimately be more beholden to a state party leadership that, while officially neutral, is visibly leaning in Romney’s direction and increasingly vocal in its fear that Santorum could hurt the party in a general election — especially after witnessing his 18-point drubbing in 2006.

Romney, Ron Paul and even Newt Gingrich got some of their supporters on the ballot as delegate candidates. But Santorum’s campaign officials, who have struggled with ballot organization issues across the country, privately concede that they just didn’t have the time, nor resources, to organize their own supporters to run as delegates when the paperwork was due earlier this year.

Mitt Romney enjoys strong support among many Pennsylvania delegates:

The state party has so far not made an endorsement in the race. But Bob Asher, a Republican National Committeeman and one of the most powerful forces in state politics, is backing Romney. So are top party fundraisers and members of Congress from the Philadelphia suburbs who, like many elected and party officials, worry that a Santorum candidacy would send independents fleeing from the GOP and damage their prospects in down-ballot races.

“I think most people recognize we have to put forward the best candidate to beat Barack Obama,” said Rep. Jim Gerlach, a suburban congressman and Romney backer who’s also a delegate. “There’s a lot of support to make sure Gov. Romney is ultimately our nominee.”

Added a top Republican fundraiser who’s neutral in the race: “People like Rick, and they often like his policies. But his brand is so tarnished and we’re all terrified at the prospect of him on top of the ticket.”

Regardless of how Rick Santorum does in Pennsylvania, it will not be a good night for him since its a winner take all primary and he will remain far behind Mitt Romney in the delegate count.