Experienced Republican operative Brian Nutt has taken over the Pa. operation for Rick Santorum’s Presidential campaign.

In a move that proves that the Republican race for President is sure to continue into April, Mitt Romney’s campaign rolled out endorsements today at the state Capitol. The notable endorsements for Romney were Congressman Gerlach and Dent.

At the same time, Rick Santorum unveiled his Pa. team. Brian Nutt will be State Director after leading Gov. Corbett’s successful 2010 campaign and also concurrently advising the Steve Welch campaign.

Nutt attended the Romney endorsement event and he told PoliticsPA, “I would not say that Pa. is a must-win. Obviously we believe that Rick will do well. There is a PPP poll that came out today that has Rick up by 18 points over Romney. Romney is down by 7 to the President. Rick is only down by 2 to President Obama in the fall. Rick has a lot of momentum going for him.”

GOP insiders say it’s unlikely that Corbett would endorse against Romney, the perceived inevitable candidate. But Nutt’s new role makes it less likely that he will endorse Romney, too.

Nutt works with the firm Branbender/Cox. John Brabender is Rick Santorum’s long-time media consultant.

A handful of northeast states vote on April 24th including Delaware, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York.