Romney Wins Maryland, DC, Wisconsin. Santorum Calls Supporters to Kick off the Second Half

By the time the evening was over it was clear. This was Mitt Romney's night. However, this race for the Republican Presidential nomination is far from over. It is on to Pennsylvania.

With victories in all three of the Republican primary races, Mitt Romney, his supporters and his campaign team were elated. However, Rick Santorum, is far from finished in his populist effort to wrest the Republican nomination from the establishment.

P>CHESAPEAKE, VA  (Catholic Online) - With victories in all three of the Republican primary races held on April 3,2012, Mitt Romney, his supporters and his campaign team were elated.

However, what was equally clear was that his only real competitor for the 2012 Republican nomination, Rick Santorum, is far from finished in his upstart, populist effort to wrest the Republican nomination from the establishment.

Having moved on to his home State of Pennsylvania - whose primary will be held on April 24, 2012 - the former Senator from Pennsylvania told enthusiastic supporters it was "time to kick off the second half" of the game. He noted that only half the primary races had occurred.

The contests in Maryland and Washington, DC were foregone conclusions. In fact, Santorum was not even on the ballot in the District of Columbia. Those races were called quite early in the evening by all three major networks.

The primary race in Wisconsin took some time. Fox News was the first of the television networks to call the race, followed by CNN.  With 20% reporting at the time of writing this report, Romney was ahead of Santorum by 5 points.

Rick Santorum was the first to speak. Surrounded by his family and his wife's extended family, he spoke a key theme of his campaign before uttering one word, family. He asked the enthusiastic crowd if they were ready "to come out of the locker room for the second half?"

In unscripted spontaneous remarks, delivered without aid of a teleprompter, he spoke from the heart. He recalled his childhood in the steel country of Butler County Pennsylvania. He praised the everyday, hardworking people of that State for their contribution to the Nation's history. He reminded them , "not only did we forge steel in this State, we forged liberty."

He drew the contrast between what he called the candidate of the "Republican establishment" and the "Republican aristocracy"- and his campaign. The theme was clear, this is a race between a populist conservative and an establishment blueblood moderate.

He insisted, "people of this country want someone whose convictions are forged in steel and not on an etch a sketch", a reference to the comment made by one of Mitt Romney's team last week. 

Santorum made references to the Liberty Bell, the US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence as contributions from Pennsylvania, using them as a backdrop for his explanation of the challenges facing the Nation all being rooted in liberty. Speaking to voters in the upcoming primaries he said, "We need someone who can go out and make the case for liberty." 

With repeated references to the Ronald Reagan Presidential campaigns of 1976 and 1980, he made the argument that the Republican Party cannot win by "moving to the middle". Instead, he insisted the party wins by "getting people in the middle to move to us and then to move forward."

His references to the first Reagan Presidential run of 1976 (which Reagan lost) have further fueled speculation that the candidate is positioning for a run in 2016. However, Santorum made clear that he is in this 2012 race to win. He said "let's not make the mistake of 1976, let's bypass that error and move to 1980. Let's nominate a conservative who can beat the Democratic incumbent".

A victorious Mitt Romney spoke later in the evening. He was introduced by Wisconsin Senator Paul Ryan who officially endorsed him this week. He won the evening and only added weight to the claims that he will be the eventual Republican nominee for the Party establishment which backs him so strongly.

In his well delivered and thoughtful speech, he relied on Teleprompters. His repeated theme was the contrast between his vision for the Nation and President Obama's governing philosophy. He called it a choice between a "Opportunity Centered Society." or a "Government Centered Society".It was an effective comparison and communicated his main claim well.

The former Massachusetts governor insisted that only a free people and a free economy can help to promote an opportunity society. He referred to what he called an "irony" - that a President who as a "community organizer was going to help the unemployed" has increased their numbers through his policies.

He told the crowd that Obama's promise to "transform America" and his plans to restore an opportunity society were drastically different. This was a comfortable Romney, delivering one of his best speeches of the campaign.

By the time the evening was over it was clear. This was Mitt Romney's night. However, this race for the Republican Presidential nomination is far from over. It is on to Pennsylvania.

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