Rick Santorum, the former senator from Pennsylvania, is poised to gain momentum in 2012. Because he worked extremely hard canvassing Iowa with concentrated focus, he finished second by eight votes in the latest Iowa straw poll. The results should have not been much of a surprise because the evangelical Mike Huckabee finished first in 2008 with about 35% of the vote. It appears that Iowans want a candidate who is conservative, strong militarily, evangelical Christian, and has government experience.
Do The Iowa Results Matter? In short, maybe. Yes because a poor showing in the caucus will guarantee you a quick exit from the race. However, a strong showing may just keep you in the race like the following examples. First, Michelle Bachmann won the Iowa straw poll but was unable to garner much support on caucus night. Second, Mike Huckabee won the 2008 caucus but was unable to secure the GOP nomination. I believe this time around that if Santorum does not capture the GOP nomination, future Iowa caucus results will not hold much weight.
How Rick Can Secure the Nomination. Rick needs to focus on his strengths such as defending the 2nd amendment, committing to the Constitution, repealing Obamacare, supporting families, showing himself as the most evangelical, going door to door, meeting the public at town hall events, and making sure other nations know that the US is not a pushover; these traits can and do resonate with many Americans. In addition, Rick needs to focus his attention solely on Obama. Many Americans today are unhappy with the direction of this country and want an alternative to the current president.
His Choice of Vice President. He absolutely needs to pick Ron Paul as his Vice President. Ron Paul has a great following among many Americans that are patriotic and well organized. This is because Paul is committed to the constitution, an advocate for personal and civil liberties, proponent of sound money and Austrian economics. Any other choice by Santorum will not work.
I hope that Rick Santorum will take this advice to keep the momentum going. We will all anxiously keep up with the results of this exciting Republican GOP primary.