Republican presidential candidate and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, speaks at the Gulf Coast Energy Summit in Biloxi, Miss.By DAVID ESPO and BETH FOUHY
Associated Press
BILOXI, Miss. – Republican presidential contenders and their super PAC supporters campaigned aggressively on land, through the mail and over the airwaves Monday on the eve of primaries in Alabama and Mississippi with the potential to solidify or shake Mitt Romney’s standing as front-runner.
In the Deep South, one of the most conservative regions of the country, Romney and his Republican rivals polished their credentials with attacks on President Barack Obama’s handling of the economy and the nation’s use of energy. “The dangers of carbon dioxide? Tell that to a plant, how dangerous carbon dioxide is,” said Rick Santorum.
But those criticisms were mere warm-up for the candidates going after each other. Gingrich is struggling for survival in Tuesday’s primaries, and Santorum is laboring to redeem his claim that Romney can’t secure the support of conservatives, particularly evangelicals who are part of the party’s key base.