Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney announced Tuesday that he has the support of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett.
In a press release issued Tuesday afternoon, Romney said Pennsylvania will be a “crucial” state in November.
“With Tom’s help, I know that I will be able to share my vision of restoring American greatness to Pennsylvania voters,” Romney said in the release.
The Romney release also contained a statement of support from the governor, who called for Republicans to rally around Romney.
“Now that the long primary season has ended, it is time for Republicans to come together and unite around the one candidate who can defeat Barack Obama and institute a bold conservative vision that we need in Washington,” Corbett said in the statement.
Romney, R-Mass., grew as the apparent Republican frontrunner candidate after underdog Rick Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, removed himself from the GOP race last week.
Corbett’s endorsement came prior to Pennsylvania’s April 24 primary.
The governor’s office had not issued an independent press release as of press time Tuesday. Corbett’s office was also unable to confirm the governor’s endorsement of Romney.
Corbett did not hold a public event to announce his support, and has made no public comment of his support as of press time Tuesday.
Professor of Political Science and Public Affairs at Penn State Harrisburg Steven Peterson wrote in an email that Santorum’s exit from the race has left Romney as the expected winner in Pennsylvania’s primary.
“Santorum is gone, Gingrich is very low profile and Romney — in essence — will win on a walkover,” Peterson wrote.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
