Santorum backers urge Gingrich to drop out

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., March 8 (UPI) -- Supporters of Rick Santorum's bid for the GOP presidential nomination have called for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to drop out of the race.

Santorum didn't directly call on Gingrich to end his campaign but the former Pennsylvania senator's allies on his super PAC, the Red, White and Blue Fund, did, Politico reported.

"Based on his electoral performance last (Tuesday) night and his out-of-step record, it is time for Newt Gingrich to exit the Republican nominating process," PAC adviser Stuart Roy wrote in a Wednesday memo. "With Gingrich exiting the race, it would be a true head-to-head race and conservatives would be able to make a choice between a consistent conservative in Rick Santorum or Mitt Romney."

Santorum, who notched Super Tuesday victories in Oklahoma, Tennessee and North Dakota, said he did not know of any attempts by his campaign or his supporters to push Gingrich out of the race.

"I'm not saying I don't want him to get out," Santorum told reporters in Kansas, where caucuses are set for Saturday. "If he wants to get out, I'm all for him getting out. I'm for Mitt Romney getting out. I wish President Obama would just hand me the thing, but that's not going to happen."

For his part, Gingrich, who won only his former home state of Georgia Tuesday, said Wednesday he has no intention of pulling out.

"We are staying in this race because I believe it's going to be impossible for a moderate to win the general election," Gingrich said Wednesday.

If Santorum and Gingrich stay in the race, conservatives will likely split their votes between the candidates in the south, where Romney lacks strong support and where there is a big base of evangelical voters, Politico noted.