Surge just beginning, Santorum says
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Rick Santorum vowed Tuesday that his last-minute surge in Iowa was only the beginning.
The former senator says he’ll campaign aggressively in all of the upcoming primary states, even as some rivals plan to skip New Hampshire and move on to a likely showdown in South Carolina.
“I’ve spent more time in New Hampshire and done more events than anybody but Jon Huntsman. And the same thing with South Carolina,” he said. “We feel very, very good that we’ve got the organization. And money is coming in better than it’s ever come in.”
The University of Minnesota’s Smart Politics project noted that every presidential candidate who has won the Iowa caucuses has won at least one other state nominating contest. Should Santorum win, the project says, he could be the first “one-hit wonder” in the 40-year history of the Iowa caucuses.
As he ramps up his campaign, Santorum is preparing for new attacks from his rivals. He responded to Rick Perry’s latest salvo on his record of supporting earmarks while in Congress.
“You know, Rick Perry hired people to go and get money for the state of Texas,” he told ABC. “When you’re a representative of Congress and in the Senate, your responsibility is to fight for your state. What happened was abuse that led to higher spending. And then we put an end to it, and we rightfully did so.”