The Hill News

Rick Santorum is facing a critical moment in his presidential bid Tuesday and it comes as some observers believe his campaign is having trouble focusing.

"They've had difficulty sustaining a message, particularly once Santorum's campaign earned its way into the first tier," said Matt Mackowiak, an unaffiliated Republican consultant.

Since the former Pennsylvania senator bested rival Mitt Romney in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri last month, his campaign message has seemed to be all over the place: He ended up apologizing for saying he wanted to "throw up" when he saw a clip of John F. Kennedy talking about the separation of church and state. He called President Obama a "snob" for saying all Americans should have the chance to go to college and lated admitted that probably wasn't "the smartest thing" to say. He accused the Romney campaign of rigging the delegate allocation in Michigan. And he's had a problem with women voters, which some say is becau! se of his statements on contraception and women in combat.

And these stumbles showed up last week in Michigan and Arizona, where Romney, who won both states, also won among women voters and Catholic voters, a particular blow to Santorum, who is a devout Catholic.

He could face the same problem Tuesday, when 10 states hold their nominating contests. Ohio, in particular, will be closely watched given the tight primary race between Santorum and Romney and the critical role it plays in the general election.

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