With Santorum's Daughter Ailing, Romney Pulls Attack Ad
The GOP front-runner plays nice as his main rival leaves the campaign trail to be at his daughter's bedside.
| Posted Monday, April 9, 2012, at 4:10 PM
Photo by Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images.
Mitt Romney's camp on Monday announced a temporary halt to its barrage of negative attack ads directed at Rick Santorum in Pennsylvania "out of deference" to the former senator's decision to stay at his ailing daughter's bedside.
The Los Angeles Times reports that Romney's team is asking local broadcasters to swap out a negative ad that focused on Santorum's record in Congress and his 2006 re-election defeat for a positive ad that touts Romney's economic conservatism. The total ad buy was reportedly in the $3 million range.
Santorum announced late last week that he would leave the campaign trail to tend to his sick daughter, Bella, who has a rare genetic condition known as Trisomy 18 that is often fatal. Bella has been in the hospital since Friday. Santorum is expected to resume his campaign in his home state on Tuesday.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that the negative ads were slated to begin airing Monday morning in the more moderate, eastern part of the Keystone State, where Romney is hoping to deliver a decisive victory in the April 24 primary and force his rival from the race.
