The top donor to a pro-Rick Santorum super-PAC said that if Mitt Romney won the Republican presidential nomination, he would be unlikely to pick Santorum as his vice presidential running mate.
"Well, I doubt Mitt Romney would ask him," billionaire Foster Friess, the top donor to the Red, White and Blue Fund super-PAC, said on Fox Business Network on Tuesday night. "I know Rick likes Mitt and respects him, but he just doesn’t like his policies in terms of ObamaCare and cap-and-trade."
Friess's comments came the same day that Romney dominated a trio of primaries in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia. The victories further propel the narrative that Romney is the party's inevitable nominee and will add pressure on his GOP rivals to exit the race.
Santorum's campaign predicted it would bounce back with a decisive win in Pennsylvania, the former senator's home state.
But some observers say that Santorum should probably drop out of the race and not risk a loss in Pennsylvania. Many strategists believe Romney has a good chance of winning the state once he devotes more resources to the contest.
Friess refused to weigh in on whether a loss in Pennsylvania would be crippling for Santorum's presidential hopes.
"Remember the famous Bible verse — don't rush to meet ... what you would most avoid — so we will wait until we get to Pennsylvania," Friess said.
In the same interview, Friess said he had no plans to stop donating to Santorum's cause. Although most of his funding has gone to the Red, White and Blue Fund, Friess recently helped Santorum directly by buying radio and newspaper advertisements in Wisconsin in support of the former Pennsylvania senator.
"Absolutely not. I have a lot of faith, not so much in Rick Santorum ... but I have faith in our country and that’s what we are all about," Friess said. "And he’s not out yet. This will be an important win for Romney ... if it occurs, but there’s Pennsylvania ahead and ... Rick is 6 percentage points ahead there in a major poll."
