Rick Santorum is often criticized for losing reelection to his Senate seat in 2006 by 18 points, winning roughly 41 percent of the vote. Yesterday he hit back by saying he ran even though the polls looked bad while Mitt Romney declined to seek reelection that year.
This reminded me: Romney also got 41 percent of the vote in a Senate race, losing by 17 points. Yet this performance was good enough to convince Massachusetts Republicans to draft him to run for governor in 2002!
I grant that breaking 40 percent against Ted Kennedy in Massachusetts is an accomplishment.
