Santorum’s campaign plots a path to Tampa:

The expectations game: The Santorum campaign is taking care to not put too much emphasis on any particular part of the map. Santorum will compete in the southern states that vote on Super Tuesday, such as Tennessee and Georgia — but with former Georgia congressman Newt Gingrich still in the hunt, Biundo does not believe that victory in those states, or any state, will be integral to Santorum’s survival. After picking up wins in the Midwest and Mountain West, the campaign is viewing the campaign through a national prism, not as a regional spoiler. “We’re picking our battles,” Biundo says. Santorum was in Texas — a state that doesn’t vote until after Super Tuesday — earlier this week. In coming days, the senator will likely make more visits to states that vote in mid-to-late March, such as Alabama. Those stops signal that however he fares in early March, Santorum will fight on. Picking up a few more upsets, plus performing better than expected as the field winnows, may be enough to keep Santorum nipping at Romney’s heels as the race shifts to Texas and the Northeast in April.

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