Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum Nearly Agreed To Form 2012 'Unity Ticket:' Bloomberg Businessweek

The Huffington Post | By Chris Gentilviso Posted: 03/22/2013 6:32 am EDT

Back in February 2012, things were looking far from pretty for Mitt Romney.

Pegged as an early frontrunner for the GOP's 2012 presidential nomination, the Republican primary results were showing a different picture. Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) claimed the Iowa caucus and a clean sweep of three Feb. 7 contests. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) snagged the conservative foothold of South Carolina on Jan. 21, sparking questions of whether Romney was capable of inspiring the party to victory against President Barack Obama.

A Friday Bloomberg Businessweek report reveals that things could have been worse. Santorum and Gingrich were close to forming a "Unity Ticket," aimed at knocking Romney out.

Santorum's stock surged after that February 2012 rally, to a point where there was talk he could capture Romney's home state of Michigan. According to the Businessweek report, that's when the "Unity Ticket" discussion reached its peak. But negotiations collapsed just before Michigan's Feb. 28 primary.

(More here.)