Daily Santorum: Focus on S.C.
Just last week we were talking about Rick Santorum solidifying his presidential support back home, by getting endorsements from leading GOPers in Harrisburg. Some tiny cracks are showing there, though we're not convinced they're all that significant. First former Gov. Tom Ridge is going to endorse Jon Huntsman today. Second, a straw poll among a couple dozen Republican activists at a Senate forum in suburban Pittsburgh last night reportedly picked Michele Bachmann in their straw poll.
His wife Karen will do her bit to reach out to the home crowd in a speech tonight to state GOP's fall dinner in Harrisburg.
But South Carolina is where it's at for Rick.Yesterday his campaign announced the endorsements of two Lancaster county GOP leaders: State Rep. Deborah Long and County Chairwoman Sandy McGarry.
The ex senator also spent the day in Greenville doing what he does best -- going after other candidates. From NBC:
Speaking at a South Carolina GOP fundraiser, Santorum revisited his criticism of a Ron Paul campaign blogger, who suggested that America was partly to blame for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Santorum also alleged that -- based on their statements supporting Afghanistan troop withdrawal at Monday’s presidential debate -- Rick Perry and Jon Huntsman subscribed to “at least part” of Paul’s foreign-policy viewpoint.
And Jennifer Rubin has more nice things to say, in a WashPost post about Rick Perry's anti-intellectualism and paucity of policy detail:
Mitt Romney can talk without notes about 59 job proposals. Rick Santorum has a well-formulated approach to boosting manufacturing in the United States. But Perry can’t fill up the time at this stage with that sort of detail, so he resorts to Texas schtick and one-liners emphasizing his attachment to conservative populists. It suggests he hasn’t spent enough time on the substance of his campaign.
Schedule: More S.C. tomorrow: Lancaster, Boiling Springs and North Myrtle Beach.
Sunday back to New Hampshire, with events in Keene, Nashua, Manchester, Hopkinton and Concord. Monday in Bedford.