Down in public polling, Rick Santorum has no event scheduled on Election Day in Florida. He's heading out of the state Friday after several events here to raise money in Pennsylvania and Virginia (and gather tax returns), before returning late Saturday.

But Santorum insisted after a pair of Tallahassee events on Thursday that he's sticking with the race. After remarks at Florida State University geared toward social conservatives, Santorum rolled out the endorsement of state Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, a former top Herman Cain supporter. Plakon told reporters he chose Santorum for his conservatism, after Newt Gingrich's recent "Obama style" ads turned Plakon off.

"We’re not going anywhere. We’re staying in this race for the long haul. I think we’re playing for the next states," Santorum told reporters afterward.

Still, questions persisted because he's not looking toward any celebration on Election Night. He will be in Florida on Sunday and Monday for events, including in Sarasota and Miami. No promises after that.

Said Santorum: "We’re just trying to figure out Monday from that point on what we’re going to do and if whether we’re going to stay here on Election Day, when you really can’t campaign, maybe start going to another state and start doing some campaigning. We want to use every single day to campaign. And we’re sort of up in the air to exactly how that works."

Not having a Tuesday event allows him to campaign in follow-up states without spending time in Florida on Election Day that offers little impact, Santorum said. The uncertain dynamic that produced different winners in three states will continue, he said.

"We believe that dynamic is still very present. Once all of the hype for all of these candidates starts to die down and people start to get serious about who they want to see go up against Barack Obama," Santorum said.