Former Republican Pa. Senator Rick Santorum is in line to be a spoiler in Tuesday’s Iowa caucus voting for the other GOP front runners.
The Republican presidential hopeful told young voters, many set to cast their first votes Tuesday night, that they can ease the burden they will bear from the nation's debt by helping him to a strong finish in Iowa's caucuses
“This is an important moment for our country,” said Santorum, who, according to recent polls, had surged into third place behind Mitt Romney and Ron Paul in the first contest of the race to win the GOP presidential nomination.
The National Journal reported on Tuesday that a Santorum win in Iowa might not be a signal of his potential strength for the long haul in the GOP presidential nomination process.
Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz has endorsed Santorum and calls him the most consistent conservative in the field -- a point that Santorum hammers home on the campaign trail.
Young people could play an important role in Tuesday's caucuses. Those who will turn 18 by Election Day are eligible to participate. Santorum has urged groups of Iowa teens to think long-term about the debt that is mounting under President Barack Obama.
“It will crush your pocketbook in the future,” Santorum said. “Hold the candidates accountable to the intractable problem of exploding government.”
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Heading into the caucuses, Santorum, now a top-tier contender, sounded increasingly confident and vowed to stay in the race beyond the first votes in the state-by-state process of choosing a Republican to challenge Obama next fall. Until several days ago, the former Pennsylvania senator had been trailing at the back of the GOP pack.
“I feel very good about where I am,” he said. “We're going up. I feel very good about New Hampshire. They like this kind of politics, too.” Santorum has devoted considerable time to campaigning in Iowa, going from door to door and from handshake to handshake as he has visited cities and towns large and small in each of the state's 99 counties.
In late December, Santorum failed to collect enough signatures for the Mar. 6 primary in Virginia, his home state. Santorum changed his residency when he left the U.S. Senate.
The 53 year old Santorum served in the Senate from 1995 to 2007. Before that he represented the 18th District of Pa. in the U.S. House from 1991 until his election to the Senate.
“We're going to do very well tonight,” Santorum predicted on ABC's “Good Morning America.”
“Ten days ago we were in last place in the polls and people asked me why I didn't get out,” he said. Santorum said voters in Iowa are “looking for the candidate they can trust, and that's why we're moving up in the polls.”
He acknowledged fundraising problems but said that a strong showing in Iowa should help significantly on that front. So far, Santorum said, “I'd say we've done this on shoestrings, but that would be insulting shoestrings.”
Santorum said he's ready to move on aggressively to New Hampshire, South Carolina and other early voting states, saying “the biggest issue in this campaign is going to be the size and scale of government and the biggest signature issue is health care.”
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