Sophomore Melika Willoughby pointed to the TV screen in A.J.’s Café as “Newt Gingrich vows to stay in race all the way to convention” flashed across the bottom of the screen on Wednesday.
Gingrich’s statement was prompted by the suspension of presidential candidate Rick Santorum’s campaign. Santorum announced his withdrawal from the race at a press conference in Gettysburg, Pa., on April 10.
“By gracefully leaving the stage now, he leaves open the chance for future political offices. It was a graceful exit,” Willoughby said. “He showed that he was about America and the ideas he stood for — not himself.”
Junior Brianna Walden, also a Santorum supporter, said that his willingness to step out of the race shows his genuine concern for the good of the country.
“I think [it] really speaks to his character that he’s willing to take a path that doesn’t lead to his personal glory,” she said. “It was honorable of him to recognize the higher good.”
Santorum’s announcement came on the heels of his losses in the Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Wisconsin primaries. The GOP presidential field is now down to three candidates — Gingrich, Ron Paul, and Mitt Romney.
Willoughby said that by staying in the race, Gingrich lacked the humility to step back and do what is best for his country.
Now that Santorum has dropped out, Walden said she will support Romney — but reluctantly.
“If Romney gets the nomination, so help me, I will vote for him, but with clenched teeth,” she said.
Walden said she sees Romney as the best candidate to hold up against President Barack Obama. Willoughby agreed.
“[Romney] has the executive experience and the credentials to win and to govern effectively,” she said. “Romney respects [the Constitution] and believes it should perform an integral role in government today.”
Professor of Political Economy Gary Wolfram, a Romney supporter and the former leader of his Michigan Economic Advisory Group, said he has expected Romney to win the Republican nomination as long ago as February.
“I have worked with Governor Romney in the past, and I know that he is a believer in a limited federal government and understands that the market system is the key to economic prosperity for all,” he said.
Now with Santorum no longer in the race, Wolfram said Romney can turn his focus toward Obama.
“Romney can focus on the economic difficulties that the nation is in as a result of the policies of the Obama Administration,” he said. “[Romney needs to] define the election issue as the economy, explain why the massive federal government interference has resulted in uncertainties that kept unemployment very high, and explain why federal deficits of the magnitude we have had over the last five years are bad for the economy.”
Willoughby said she had been a fan of Santorum since “before Santorum was a thing.” She was one of the students who lobbied for the former senator to attend the Hillsdale Constitutional Symposium that was later cancelled. She even organized and led a group of Hillsdale College students to campaign for Santorum in Wisconsin before its April 3 primary elections earlier this semester.
“I really felt like everything had come down to that one state,” she said.
Former Massachusetts governor Romney defeated Santorum in Wisconsin 44.1 percent to Santorum’s 36.9 percent. Willoughby said this defeat verified to her that Santorum would probably step out of the race, but said Santorum impacted the political discussion in an extremely positive way.
“My reaction was disappointment that Santorum was out, but the fight is still on,” she said. “And the ideas that he brought to the forefront of this race are now part of the dialogue.”
Walden said she also supported Santorum even before many people knew his name. Walden met him in Washington, D.C.
“I was really impressed by Rick Santorum, the man,” she said. “My initial thought was that he doesn’t have that presidential air, but I loved him for his policies. He was so genuine and so real.”
Walden was the Hillsdale College contact for the Santorum campaign while the college was trying to put together the Constitutional symposium. Gingrich, Romney, Paul, and Santorum were all invited.
Walden said both Gingrich and Romney said they would come if Santorum agreed to go. But even after Santorum said he would make the trip to Hillsdale, Gingrich and Romney still did not commit, prompting the Santorum campaign to pull out as well.
Walden said though she was disappointed, she did not blame Santorum.
“I really blame Romney more than him, though I was sad that the Santorum campaign didn’t work with us and pulled out without communicating,” she said.
Even with that grudge against Romney, Walden said she will turn her support towards his campaign now that Santorum is out.
