Santorum will support nominee

Rick Santorum will vote for Mitt Romney if the former Massachusetts governor wins the Republican presidential nomination, a spokeswoman said Friday. Alice Stewart, speaking on CNN's "Starting Point," was trying to douse an uproar Santorum started Thursday when he suggested Romney is only "a little different" from President Obama, USA Today reported. "Rick has made it abundantly clear once a nominee is chosen he'll stand behind the nominee and do everything we can to replace Barack Obama," Stewart said. Romney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich piled on after Santorum's remark in San Antonio, joined by Republican bloggers. Ed Morrissey, a Santorum supporter, suggested the former U.S. senator had "forgotten the purpose of the Republican primary." "You win by giving people the opportunity to see a different vision for our country not someone who is just going to be a little different than the person in there," Santorum said. "If they're going to be a little different we may as well stay with what we have instead of taking a risk in what may be the Etch A Sketch candidate for the future," a reference to a gaffe earlier this week by a Romney campaign spokesman.