The Secret Unity Ticket That Almost Toppled Romney

Joshua Green: “It’s one of the great untold stories of the 2012 presidential campaign, a tale of ego and intrigue that nearly upended the Republican primary contest and might even have produced a different nominee: As Mitt Romney struggled in the weeks leading up to the Michigan primary, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum nearly agreed to form a joint ‘Unity Ticket’ to consolidate conservative support and topple Romney.”

Said Santorum strategist John Brabender: “It would have sent shock waves through the establishment and the Romney campaign.”

“But the negotiations collapsed in acrimony because Gingrich and Santorum could not agree on who would get to be president.”