Santorum Follows Paul

Somewhere in the lonely, tiny hut that is Jim Gilmore’s campaign headquarters, he crosses off another name, puts down his pencil, connects his finger tips, and leans back with a smirk. “It’s all going according to plan.”

And then there were nine.

You might recall my wonder that Santorum, fresh off his 11th place Iowa finish, decided to continue his campaign rather than following Mike Huckabee out the door. I guess it took him a couple days to realize he’s not a crazy man.

Like with the Paul withdrawal earlier today, I think this is a good development for Ted Cruz, though not nearly as beneficial. Santorum’s 0.4 national polling average wasn’t exactly taking any oxygen from him. Still, I want to thank him for clearing the field. Moreover, between today’s normal post and then the two drop-outs, PPFA has the first three-post day in its history. Thanks, Senator!

All the candidates I thought would drop out after Iowa have now done so (though I thought Carson would think about it). After New Hampshire we’ll lose Gilmore, Fiorina, and perhaps two of Kasich, Christie, and Paul. A week from now we’ll be down to a handful of Republican hopefuls! Things move fast in February.