As voters from his state head to the polls, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said on Tuesday he cast his ballot for Rick Santorum in the Republican primary.
Bentley announced his vote on the radio, telling the syndicated “Rick and Bubba Show” that he would throw his last-minute support behind the former Pennsylvania senator. The Santorum campaign tweeted out a photo of Bentley with the presidential candidate and his wife.
But voting for the candidate does not necessarily mean Bentley endorsed his campaign, the Republican governor said on Facebook. Bentley said he voted for Santorum because he is the most conservative candidate, but he maintains that he will not endorse a candidate.
"I believe a vote is a personal decision that should be based on a voter’s values and principles, not on someone else’s opinion," he said in a Facebook post. "After being asked who I would vote for, I responded that I had personally chosen to vote for Rick Santorum. The Republican primary features a strong pool of candidates, and I will fully support the Republican nominee chosen by the people."
However, Bentley recently said in a newspaper interview that he was not too thrilled with any of the GOP candidates, and seemed to think the nomination would eventually go to Mitt Romney.
“It seems like it’s anyone except Romney,” Bentley told the Mobile Press-Register on Feb. 20. “They've tried everybody else. Now it’s Santorum. He’s the only one that’s left. I’m not extremely excited about the Republican field of candidates. Obviously I’ll support the Republican nominee, but I’m not excited about any of them.”
According to latest polls, Santorum is trailing rivals Romney and Newt Gingrich in Alabama.
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