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Family Leader won't endorse, but top leaders back Santorum
Dec. 20, 2011 11:03 am
An influential social conservative group in Iowa announced today it will not be making an endorsement in the GOP presidential race just ahead of thousands of Iowa Republicans participating in the state's first-in-the-nation precinct caucuses next month.
However, Bob Vander Plaats and Chuck Hurley, two top officials in The Family Leader organization, announced they were backing former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum separate from the Pleasant Hill-based group.
The group's decision to stay neutral in the 2012 GOP race is significant since their members come from a range of social and evangelical conservatives who will shape the outcome of Iowa's Jan. 3 lead-off caucuses similarly to the way they delivered an upset victory for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee four years ago.
Officials of The Family Leader announced last month that they had narrowed their list of candidates up for consideration to Santorum, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. However, they acknowledged that the decision to settle on what candidate to support was difficult.
Sioux City businessman Bob Vander Plaats speaks during a news conference in front of the Iowa Judicial building, Friday, Aug. 6, 2010, in Des Moines, Iowa. Vander Plaats said Friday he won't launch a third-party campaign for governor and instead will head an effort to oust three Iowa Supreme Court justices who joined last year's decision legalizing gay marriage. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
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