Last week, former Sen. Rick Santorum told me that Mitt Romney had “a real opportunity” to “pull off a surprise” in the Keystone State this year.
Then, former Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell made news when he quickly echoed that sentiment.
Now, Team Romney has issued a memo calling Pennsylvania “a natural next step” as they seek to extend the playing field. The memo goes on to say they “are adding Pennsylvania to the long list of states where we are expending significant resources…”
This comes on the heels of an email from an RNC source which said, “Mitt Romney is placing buys in at least Philadelphia for 11/5-11/6. We are gathering spending and will let you know his full buy in PA.”
This, of course, will lead some to complain that Romney is buying “fool’s gold,” but Team Obama is at least concerned enough about defending the state to start spending money there, too.
Someone on Twitter pointed out that this all plays into Andrew Sullivan’s premise. As you might recall, this Sunday he warned that: “If Virginia and Florida go back to the Republicans, it’s the Confederacy, entirely.”
No word yet on how he might respond to Romney’s “invasion” of Pennsylvania — which also went for Obama last time.
What if it all comes down to a few votes in Gettysburg?
UPDATE: Romney’s TV ad for Pennsylvania