Former senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) is making a play for the support of social conservatives in Washington state today, holding a meeting with “values voters” at an Olympia church ahead of a 7 p.m. rally in Tacoma.
“I believe that Governor Romney is the strongest candidate, has the broadest leadership skills of any of our candidates,” Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) said on the call.
In explaining her support, McMorris Rodgers, a member of House Republican leadership, paraphrased conservative icon William F. Buckley’s statement that the GOP should nominate the most conservative candidate who is electable.
“I’m here because I believe that Governor Romney is our strongest person to take on President Obama in the fall,” she said. “And it’s really time for our party to start unifying behind our candidate.”
Also on the call were former state party chairwoman Diane Tebelius and 2010 gubernatorial nominee Dino Rossi, who hailed Romney’s business acumen and his economic record as governor.
Not mentioned on the call was the same-sex marriage bill that Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire (D) signed into law Monday afternoon, making the state the seventh in the nation to legalize gay marriage. Santorum is expected to address the issue in his meeting with social conservatives Monday afternoon.
Romney has tended to do well in the West, and Washington would appear to be a state where his campaign would be poised to have a strong showing.
But one procedural matter complicates things: 2012 will mark the first year that Washington state’s presidential nominating contest will be 100-percent caucus. (In 2008, the contest was part-primary, part-caucus.)
Romney has underperformed in caucuses (with the notable exception of Nevada), and Rep. Ron Paul’s camp could make an effort to repeat its strong showing in Saturday’s Maine caucuses out west.
With 43 delegates at state — and with a contest nestled between the Feb. 28 Arizona and Michigan primaries and the March 6 Super Tuesday races — the Evergreen State could become a three-way battleground in the coming weeks.
