Paul and Santorum Both Leave Florida Early

|| Ron Paul has fled Florida for Maine, Santorum is back home in Virginia. ||

Fleeing Florida.

They may not say it publicly, but Ron Paul and Rick Santorum both know that Florida is a two man race and neither one of them are in it.  So rather than hang around among the citrus trees and sunshine, Dr. Paul has moved on to Maine…

With little chance of scoring a win in the Sunshine State, Republican GOP candidate Ron Paul has turned his attention to the caucus states of Minnesota, Nevada and Maine.  His schedule puts him in Maine on Friday and Saturday, where he hopes to get an early start on the campaign trail.

…while Sen. Santorum is back home in Virginia doing his taxes.

Santorum, who turned in a strong debate performance on Thursday while attacking Mitt Romney’s healthcare law in Massachusetts, said he would be making a brief trip to his Virginia home before returning to Florida. 

“I’m heading home because everybody in the press is asking me to get my taxes and I’ve gotta go home to get them,” Santorum said on Fox News.  “I’m coming back within 24 hours and I’m here through up to election day.

The two candidates have very different strategies moving ahead.  Ron Paul knows he has no chance of winning the Republican presidential nomination.  His focus from here on out is accumulating delegates in order to have an influence on the GOP convention in Tampa.  Sure, he will appear in all of the debates, but expect Dr. Paul to spend most of his time in states that do not have winner take all primaries.  He may not win any of the caucus states, but Ron Paul will continue to accumulate delegates throughout the spring and summer.  The Ron Paul revolution will influence the 2012 Republican convention, whether the party likes it or not.

Rick Santorum, on the other hand, it playing lottery ticket politics.  Already an expert at getting by on a shoestring budget, the former Pennsylvania Senator will compete in every state and every debate hoping that, like in Iowa, he is the one conservatives flock to when Newt Gingrich eventually implodes.  Rick Santorum’s best chance at becoming the Republican nominee comes in 2016 or 2020 when he is seen as the next in line.