He is probably correct. If he can win in Illinois, the polls will shift enough for the 11% that keeps jumping to the front runner to move from Romney to him. I do not see Romney ever getting it back if they leave him.
You nailed it- it’s all about momentum. Santorum will have a tsunami working for him if he pulls an IL win. I agree with Yaelle, Newt needs to get the hell out of the race. But apparently he’s ego is getting in the way. This would have been all over for Romney, if Newt did the proper thing and dropped out after Santorum’s smashing trifecta win. Very likely Santorum would have carried WA; almost certainly MI (where Romney won by a mere 3 % points) and definitely in Ohio where Romney won by less than 1% of a point. Newt is now the saboteur. But don’t tell that to some of our FReepers here who have their heads buried not in sand but in concrete.