Santorum hoping he’ll gain supporters after Jindal’s exit

CEDAR RAPIDS - Just as he did four years ago, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum is counting on Iowans to lift him from an asterisk in the polls to a front-runner in the race for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination.

'Trust yourselves, not the experts and the national polls,” the 2012 Iowa precinct caucus winner told a houseful of supporters Wednesday night in Iowa City.

'You're Iowans,” he said. 'You have a special responsibility to narrow the field, to decide for America the subset of candidates that are going to have the chance to be president of the United States.

'You are the best barometer of who the best conservative candidate will be,” Santorum told about 50 people. He emphasized the need for Republicans to nominate a conservative.

'You did what you thought was right” in 2008 and 2012, when Iowa GOP caucusgoers backed former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in 2008 and then Santorum in 2012. However, the party nominated Sen. John McCain and Mitt Romney - 'and they lost.”

'Iowa may not be a good determiner of who the nominee should be, but you're the right determiner,” he said.

Santorum, who pointed out that his numbers in national polls in 2012 were at 2 percent a week before the caucuses, expects his numbers will begin to rise 'when the entertainment phase of the campaign goes away and people focus on who we want in the Oval Office.”

'Do we want an entertainer?” he asked. 'Someone with no track record, who's never accomplished anything in politics or government … or someone we know we can trust and whose values won't change if the polls change?”

Santorum's track record helped convince Gretchen and Mark Brown to back him. They see him as 'the whole package.”

'He's pro-life and for the family, and helping workers,” said Gretchen Brown at the house party the couple hosted for Santorum on Wednesday evening. She also appreciates his foreign policy experience and his immigration policy.

'He has a track record that shows he does what he says he'll do,” she said.

'I respect that and think he has the makings of a fantastic president.”

Santorum is hoping he'll also gain the backing of Iowans who were backing Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal before he dropped out of the race earlier this week.

'It's already been a big plus for us,” he said. 'Bobby was running in my lane … so we're already picking up some people who said it was down to the two of us.”

He said Jindal was targeting people who supported him four years ago and running as the 'Rick Santorum of this campaign - someone who is new and fresh and who has never run before.”

Despite low poll numbers now, Santorum is optimistic that with his town-by-town, county-by-county approach his support will grow over the next 75 days.

'That's the process. You try to do your best to hang in there and have people see you as a credible alternative to whatever the candidate of the month or day is,” Santorum said.

Four years ago, more than one-third of those who supported him made their decision on caucus night. He attributes that to a strong organization and the fact he visited all 99 counties.

'It adds a little credibility that at least four years ago helped me,” Santorum said.

By Feb. 1, he said, GOP caucusgoers will be familiar with most or all of the candidates, but will remember that he showed up in their community.

Santorum couldn't say whether he'll make a third 99-county tour.

'Well, we're doing eight events tomorrow if that gives you an idea,” he said.