Santorum Rakes in Endorsements, Campaign Cash
Former Senate candidate and Tea Party activist Sharron Angle and former Colorado congressman and 2008 presidential hopeful Tom Tancredo have endorsed Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum.
In a statement released Thursday, Angle said she has known Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, for years. "He is a strong fiscal and social conservative who stands on principles above politics," she said.
"He has never wavered in his support for family values understanding the impact that strong families have on a prosperous economy." She also praised Santorum's opposition to amnesty for illegal immigrants, to President Obama's health care overhaul, to Wall Street bailouts, and to a cap and trade energy policy.
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The Tea Party activist was the Republican nominee for the Nevada Senate seat in 2010, but lost to Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Tancredo, known for his ultra-conservative stances, has been a staunch supporter of pro-family issues and was also known as a fiscal watchdog during his congressional career.
While endorsements are nice, what Santorum needs now is cold, hard cash so he can buy name identification and get his message to the voters. That message is now focused on former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.
"I don't have hundreds of millions of dollars so I've got to focus my attention on where I think we can consolidate our gains," Santorum said on Thursday in Colorado. To make his point, Santorum referenced some recent polling that asked what voters would do if their chosen candidate dropped out of the race.
"If you look at the voters who voted for me, and where they would go if I was not in the race it would be divided between Romney and Gingrich, actually more toward Romney than Gingrich," he said. "Interestingly enough, if Newt's out of the race almost all of his votes come to me."
Advisers in the Santorum camp said the former Pennsylvania senator's contributions have steadily increased since mid-January although they would not give specific amounts.
"Our contributions are up and we're not spending a lot right now," said one of Santorum's aides who asked not to be identified. "We're hiring the right people and using our time wisely, so all in all, we're in a good place."
When describing the GOP race in financial terms and how he is trailing former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and his large bank account, Santorum said he knows how the Republican nominee will feel when they face President Obama in November.
"Mitt Romney's big selling point to Republicans is I can win because I have the most money and the best organization," Santorum said. "Guess what, in the fall he won't have the most money and he won't have the best organization. I don't care how much money he raises, he won't have as much as Obama, because Obama, all he's doing is saving it, and he won't have the mainstream media on his side helping him out like it is in this race. So understand, money and organization is not going to win this election."
If Santorum is looking for a win in Nevada, where caucuses will be held Saturday, he will need to make up some ground quickly.
According to the latest Las Vegas Review-Journal poll results, Santorum is in third place with 11 percent, compared to Romney who has 45 percent and Gingrich who has 25 percent. Texas Congressman Ron Paul is last with 9 percent.
