DES MOINES — An emotional, invigorated Rick Santorum thanked God and his family on Tuesday night in a rhetorically puffed-up speech celebrating his strong finish in the Iowa caucuses.
“It’s been a great journey,” Santorum said, as 97 percent of precincts had him edging a handful of votes ahead of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. “I’ve survived the challenges so far by the daily grace that comes from God for giving me his grace every day, for loving me.”
He promised supporters that he can continue his surge in other states, even though Santorum has spent all of his time campaigning in Iowa.
“You will have a friend in Rick Santorum,” he said. “We are off to New Hampshire.”
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney dryly congratulated Santorum and Texas Rep. Ron Paul on their performance in the caucuses — Paul came in third place — and highlighted the fact that he had 10 times fewer full-time staffers in Iowa this year than in 2008.
“When I ran in Iowa four years ago we had 52 members of our full-time staff,” he said. “This time we’ve had five.”
Romney then led into his stump speech, reciting lines from “America the Beautiful” and talked about how much he loves America.
“This is an election about the soul of America,” he said, repeating a line he’s used at dozens of campaign stops across Iowa this week.
Despite his horse race with Santorum, Romney called his performance in the caucuses a victory.
“Thank you, Iowa, for the great send-off you are giving to us and others in this campaign,” he said. “We are going to change America and get the White House back on track.”
