After Mitt Romney’s sweep of all five primaries yesterday and with the Gingrich campaign signaling it will concede defeat next Tuesday, the Republican National Committee has announced it will formally back Romney for President.
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement, “Gov. Romney’s strong performance and delegate count at this stage of the primary process has made him our party’s presumptive nominee. In order to maximize our efforts I have directed my staff at the RNC to open lines of communication with the Romney campaign. We will ensure that our finance, political and communications teams are fully synchronized. I am excited that these two top-notch operations will start to integrate and present a unified team to defeat Barack Obama.”
Earlier this month, the RNC and the Romney campaign opened a joint fundraising account and the two organizations had been preparing for an eventual merger, according to participants in the discussions. Polls show the grassroots of the Republican Party are also coalescing behind Governor Romney in hopes of defeating President Obama in November.
Last evening, former rival Rick Santorum told Piers Morgan on CNN, “I will support the nominee of our party. … If (Mitt Romney) is the nominee, I’m going to do anything I can to help him win.”
“He is the person that is going to go up against Barack Obama. It’s pretty clear. We need to win this race,” he said.
Santorum and Romney are scheduled to meet today and again on May 4th when they are likely to discuss Santorum’s campaign debt and eventual endorsement.
The nation’s leading pro-life organizations like the National Right to Life Committee and the Susan B. Anthony List have also encouraged members to back Romney.
In his victory speech last evening, Romney noted his former rivals and echoed the theme of unity for the general election.
“Let me also commend the people who had the courage to run for president on our side of the aisle this year,” Romney said. “Some still running, some have gotten out of the race…Michele Bachmann, and Tim Pawlenty, and Jon Huntsman and Herman Cain, and Rick Perry, and Ron Paul and Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich. Each is going to provide a vital role in making sure that we win in November. Thank you, this extraordinary team. We have all fought hard and well and we’re going to fight for the things we believe in.”
From a podium featuring a placard reading “A Better America Begins Tonight,” Romney remarked, “After 43 primaries and caucuses, many long days and more than a few long nights, I can say with confidence – and gratitude – that you have given me a great honor and solemn responsibility. And, together, we will win on November 6th!”
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Romney used the speech to conclude the race for the nomination and kick off the general election campaign. His remarks largely focused on drawing contrasts between himself and President Obama.
“This President is putting us on a path where our lives will be ruled by bureaucrats and boards, commissions and czars. He’s asking us to accept that Washington knows best – and can provide all. . . .I have a very different vision for America, and of our future. It is an America driven by freedom, where free people, pursuing happiness in their own unique ways, create free enterprises that employ more and more Americans. Because there are so many enterprises that are succeeding, the competition for hard-working, educated and skilled employees is intense, and so wages and salaries rise.
I see an America with a growing middle class, with rising standards of living. I see children even more successful than their parents – some successful even beyond their wildest dreams – and others congratulating them for their achievement, not attacking them for it.”
