For Rick Santorum, victory is still visible

Rick Santorum still sees a path to the White House.

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum

Although by most accounts the race has evolved into a two-man battle between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, Santorum continues to campaign, waiting for a moment that he is convinced will come as the race shifts to the industrial Midwest.

“We haven’t had any primaries in my neck of the woods,” Santorum said in an interview this week in Sarasota.

Once the primary schedule pushes the race into states such as Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania, Santorum said his message, which focuses on rebuilding the nation’s manufacturing base, will gain steam.

Next up will be the Nevada caucuses Feb. 4 and Minnesota is included on Feb. 7. Michigan votes Feb. 28 and Ohio on Super Tuesday, March 6. Pennsylvania is not scheduled until April 24.

“We are not only along for the ride, but we hope at some point to be driving the train,” said Santorum, who was in the U.S. Senate from 1994 to 2006.

Santorum, 53, said Romney’s victory in New Hampshire and Gingrich’s win in South Carolina came in their backyards.

Santorum said he’s determined to continue the race and conserve his resources for when the race makes it to his territory. He said by then, Gingrich’s recent surge in the polls will be over and he will be the alternative to Romney for the duration of the race, he said.

“My opportunity is to keep plugging away and understand that we are along long way away from the end,” Santorum said.

That does not mean Santorum is ceding Florida entirely. Santorum set up his campaign headquarters in Sarasota and spent considerable time on the west coast of the state, where midwestern transplants make up a big part of the electorate.

On Sunday, just two days before the primary election, Santorum will hold his biggest rally yet in the region. More than 2,000 people have already signed up to attend at Dolphin Aviation near Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. The free event starts at 2 p.m.

Florida is a winner-take-all state, meaning that whoever wins on Tuesday will capture all 50 delegates.

Even though he knows a win is unlikely in Florida, Santorum said he keeps campaigning here because he is convinced that by the time the nomination battle reaches the national convention, Florida’s winner-take-all delegate status will change to awarding them proportionately by congressional district results.

In that case, Santorum said he could have a chance to be awarded some delegates.

“We may not win the state of Florida, but we may win some congressional districts that could produce some delegates for us at the convention,” he said.

The problem for Santorum is Newt Gingrich, says Sarasota Republican Party chairman Joe Gruters.

“If Newt stumbles, Santorum is hoping to become the new alternative to Romney,” Gruters said.

Santorum said as much as he would like to be leading the race, he said watching Romney and Gingrich tear each other apart is not the worst thing for him long term. He said as both candidates have their weaknesses exposed, he stands ready to offer himself as the alternative to take on President Barack Obama.

“Sometimes sitting on the sidelines, watching two people destroy themselves creates an opportunity in of itself,” he said.