Rick Santorum Guarantees Victory In GOP Primary If He Wins Illinois

Campaigning in Illinois on Saturday, Rick Santorum declared that if he wins the state's primary on Tuesday, he will capture the GOP nomination, reports NBC News.

"This is a primary, and turnout is everything. You do your job, you do your job, then this is the pledge," Santorum said. "If we're able to come out of Illinois with a huge or surprise win, I guarantee you, I guarantee you that we will win this nomination."

It's a bold claim, considering that Santorum is currently trailing Romney by an estimated 243 delegates and Illinois only awards 69 -- but perhaps the ex-Pennsylvania senator's campaign could use a little magical thinking in the face of such harsh delegate math.

Romney has long been favored in Illinois, where he is expected to benefit from a high number of affluent Republican voters in the Chicago area. But the southern, more conservative part of the state favors Santorum, and recent polls have shown a reasonably close race.

The Washington Post reports that Romney cut short his campaign trip to Puerto Rico to firm up his lead in the Land of Lincoln.