News: Rick Santorum quits US primary race

Yesterday, the ultraconservative candidate Rick Santorum – the runner-up until now – officially announced his decision to withdraw from the race for family reasons. This effectively clears the way for the frontrunner, Mitt Romney, to face Barack Obama next November.

Mr. Santorum explains his withdrawal from the campaign by stating that his three-year-old daughter suffers from a rare genetic disease. According to Vincent Michelot, professor of American political history at the Lyon Institute of Political Studies, while Rick Santorum's explanation remains credible, his decision may also be motivated by political reasons.

It will be recalled that Mr. Santorum suffered defeats in three states during the past week. A former senator from Pennsylvania, another loss, this time in that state, would have represented a significant setback for him; and until now, he had been considered neck and neck with Mitt Romney.

Already considered a winner

The two other candidates in the running, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul, have so far only managed to secure 412 delegates compared to 656 for Mitt Romney. Romney is even considered the frontrunner in a poll published Thursday by the Public Policy Polling Institute.

Nevertheless, Christian fundamentalists and Tea Party members from the party's ultra-conservative base see Romney as a rather lenient man with overly progressive positions. They intend to use the coming months to influence the candidate's platform.