Maybe the fierce primary battle in New York state won't happen after all.

If you're a politics junkie, you've read countless, breathless stories on how New York, for the first time in as long as anyone can remember, would host an actual primary race — with candidates campaigning in the far reaches of the state, instead of just the New York City piggybank.

But now, various media outlets are reporting that former Sen. Rick Santorum is dropping out of the race, making former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney the even-more-presumptive nominee.

It's possible that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will pick up some of Mr. Santorum's support, but Mr. Gingrich has all but conceded that he's in the race not to collect enough delegates to win, but to push Mr. Romney to the right. Forget the dogfight; cue the coronation.

There goes the dream of a north country campaign stop — something that I reported months ago could be a possibility, with Messrs. Romney and Santorum having reached out to local political figures about potential stops.

Ah, well. Maybe next year.

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