Santorum news takes state GOP leaders by surprise

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Rick Santorum has ended his bid for the White House. The move comes even though the Santorum campaign had high hopes for a strong showing in Indiana in a May primary that is just four weeks away.

The Indiana GOP began preparing for a competitive primary here during 2011, and now it won't happen. Four of the Republican candidates visited Indiana in the meantime, and, while Santorum wasn't one of them, he led Mitt Romney in an Indiana poll released just last week.

That's why state Sen. Mike Delph was caught off-guard when 24-Hour News 8 showed him the first report on Santorum's plan to leave the race. Delph is the leading Santorum volunteer here. He campaigned for the former Pennsylvania senator in Iowa and was helping to build an Indiana organization.

When asked if he was surprised, Delph said: "Well, considering I've been looking for office space for the Santorum campaign for the last week and a half, yes."

State GOP Chairman Eric Holcomb expressed similar surprise.

"Just as of last night we were hearing of phone calls going out and plans being made to look for volunteers for Sen. Santorum," he said, "and today we get this news."

Holcomb said there is still plenty of work to do to unite the party behind Romney.

One thing that could make a difference would be a Mitch Daniels endorsement. The governor has so far avoided making one.