Cracks emerge in Santorum’s evangelical support

Rick Santorum, who rose in the polls thanks to enthusiastic support from Christian conservatives, faced pressure Sunday from a key Republican evangelical to end his increasingly long-shot White House bid.

Richard Land, a top official with the powerful Southern Baptist Convention, urged Santorum to abandon the race and throw his support to frontrunner Mitt Romney to increase Republicans’ chances of defeating Barack Obama in November.

“Rick’s a good friend. I like Rick a lot,” Land told CBS “Face the Nation” program on Sunday.

But he said, “as his friend I would say to him, ‘you know, you ought to seriously consider leaving the race now’,” the prominent Baptist clergyman said.