Santorum Surges In Iowa

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum has dedicated much of his time and money trying to win over voters in Iowa in recent weeks, and it finally seems to be paying dividends. 

According to the Des Moines Register’s latest in-state poll, Santorum is quickly gaining ground on frontrunners Mitt Romney and Ron Paul. Santorum now sits in third place in Iowa with 15 percent support, nearly a double-digit deficit after four days of polling.  

Romney and Paul rake in 24 and 22 percent support, respectively, and though Santorum has struggled to gain national notoriety in the Republican presidential primary, he has continued to climb in Iowa. 

In fact, Santorum has seen figures that look more promising than his four-day, 15 percent would lead you to believe. According to the poll, the order of the top three candidates in Iowa is rearranged in the last two days, with Santorum replacing Paul as the number two in Iowa.

In the first two days of polling, Santorum was barely seeing double-digit support with ten percent. In the final day of polling, however,  Santorum’s rise became more evident when he doubled his earlier totals, falling just one percentage point short of Mitt Romney’s 23 percent.  

The poll was conducted from Dec. 27-30 and results are based on the telephone interviews of 602 likely Republican voters.

Romney Wins Support From Senator Thune

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has picked up another key endorsement to contribute to his campaign for president. 

Romney won the support of Republican Senator John Thune (S.D.), who has gained popularity among Senate Republicans for taking the seat of former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle. 

“Mitt Romney has shown throughout his life in the private sector, as leader of the Olympics, as governor, and in this campaign that he will not back down from difficult challenges,” Thune said. “His plans to revitalize the private sector and restore our country’s fiscal health are drawn from his 25 year career as a conservative businessman. Washington could use these commonsense principles at such a critical time.”

Thune will contribute to the Romney campaign by serving as co-chairman of his national advisory committee.

“Senator Thune has been a leading voice in the Senate,” Romney said. “He will be a trusted advisor as I bring this message to voters, work to reverse President Obama’s failed policies and reform Washington.”

Thune will join Romney in Iowa Wednesday where the two will hold a telephone conference call with Iowa voters. The South Dakota senator’s support comes just days after Romney picked up an endorsement from the conservative New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte.