Santorum Tells NH Voters To Ignore Pundits, Polls
TILTON, N.H. (AP) — A buoyant Rick Santorum on Thursday urged New Hampshire voters to reject pundits and polls favoring Mitt Romney as the Republican presidential standard-bearer.
"Don't settle for less than America needs," Santorum said at an old train station here. "Don't defer your judgment to national polls. Don't defer your judgment to the pundits."
Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, eked out an eight-vote victory in the Iowa caucuses this week and is favored to win the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday.
But Santorum, carried by the momentum from his second-place Iowa finish, cast himself as the conservative best suited to challenge President Barack Obama.
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WBZ-TV's New Hampshire Bureau Chief Lauren Leamancyzk reports.
Still, he sought to manage expectations, noting Romney's daunting lead in New Hampshire.
"I mean, the chances in five days to make up a 35- or 40-point lead is going to be pretty limited," Santorum told reporters earlier in the day in Manchester. "But we expect to make a run and to move up in those polls and to show that we're the candidate with the momentum, and we'll carry that into South Carolina."
South Carolina holds its presidential primary on Jan. 21.
Santorum found himself addressing some voters' concerns. One man in Tilton, worried about gun rights, confronted Santorum about his support for former Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, who backed gun control and left the GOP to become a Democrat.
Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, said he is committed to gun rights and acknowledged his support for Specter.
"Am I perfect? No," he said. "I've made mistakes, and I've been upfront about that."
His candor helped win him the backing of CatholicVote.org, a 600,000-member online organization that pledged to mobilize on Santorum's behalf.
"And while no political candidate, or human being for that matter, is perfect, Rick Santorum's baggage contains his clothes," CatholicVote.org president Brian Burch said. "Republicans hoping to win back the White House in November must unite behind the candidate most dedicated to the foundational issues of faith, family and freedom."
In Manchester, Santorum campaigned as if he were already the nominee with rhetoric focused on Obama.
"We have a president who doesn't understand us," Santorum said at a Rotary Club meeting. He said Obama has run roughshod over the Constitution's separation of powers doctrine by installing the new head of the federal consumer protection agency without Senate approval.
"You are not above the law, Mr. President," Santorum said.
Associated Press Broadcast correspondent Sagar Meghani contributed to this report.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
