BEDFORD, N.H. -- Rick Santorum, the former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania who is running for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, made a campaign swing through southern New Hampshire. Santorum met with staffers and supporters at his Bedford headquarters on Friday, Dec. 2, before going on to visit Nashua later that night. He also campaigned in Nashua on Saturday.
The Bedford event was attended by about 30 supporters. There was a Christmas theme as attendees were asked to bring Christmas presents to support the Marine Corps' Toys for Tots campaign. Some supporters brought their children, and the presence of the youngsters helped make the event festive and upbeat, despite Santorum's lagging in the polls.
Support from Sarah Palin
Santorum was upbeat, buoyed by supportive remarks recently made by Sarah Palin on Sean Hannity's Fox News show. Palin intimated that voters looking for a true conservative with a consistent record may wind up supporting Santorum.
Newsmax quoted Palin as telling Hannity, "If voters start kind of shifting gears and deciding they want ideological consistency, then they're going to start paying attention to say, Rick Santorum."
Palin told Hannity that she was not officially endorsing Santorum, quipping that her "personal endorsement probably doesn't amount to a hill of beans at this point in the race."
Focus on Iowa
Senator Santorum told the Bedford quorum that he was focusing his efforts on Iowa, where he was successfully recruiting caucus "captains", key figures in Iowa's electoral process. Santorum promised his supporters he was going to do well in Iowa and then ride a wave of support back to New Hampshire.
It's the same strategy that Mike Huckabee used, who also was not polling well until he won the Iowa caucuses. A deeply religious conservative like Santorum, Huckabee built on the support of evangelical Christians to propel his candidacy.
According to Politico, Santorum's New Hampshire field director is Nick Pappas, who worked on Huckabee's 2008 campaign. Santorum's national political director, Michael Biundo, another Granite Stater, oversaw Pat Buchanan's victory in the 1996 New Hampshire primary.
Evangelical Support
Santorum proudly told the crowd he had picked up the endorsement of evangelical pastor Cary K. Gordon of Sioux City, Iowa, president of the PeaceMakers Institute. A power in the Hawkeye State, Gordon spearheaded the campaign that defeated three Iowa Supreme Court judges who had voted for same-sex marriage.
A staunch Catholic, Santorum is a hardliner on the issue of gay marriage, which he opposes.
During the question and answer session, I mentioned to Santorum that Newt Gingrich had anointed himself the Republican nominee, which he responded to with a laugh. Citing the fact that Iowa evangelicals are upset with Republican politician Bob Vander Plaats, the head of a coalition of conservative activists called The FAMILY Leader, for his ties to the thrice-married, twice-divorced, admitted serial adulterer Newt Gingrich, I asked whether he thought evangelicals would get behind Gingrich as a presidential candidate.
Santorum told me that he had the word that The FAMILY Leader would not endorse Gingrich. After several more questions, the Senator schmoozed with his supporters over pizza before hitting the road for Nashua.
It was a relaxed and upbeat event headlined by a confident candidate who has embraced the strategy of running as a dark horse.
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