MANCHESTER, N.H. – As he began to make a late move in Iowa, Rick Santorum insisted he wasn’t just another Mike Huckabee. That is, somebody who wins there but can’t compete in places without a critical mass of socially conservative voters. With results still coming here in the Granite State, Santorum now finds himself in fifth place at 9 percent, or slightly lower than Huckabee’s 11 percent showing in 2008.
This disappointing performance reflects Santorum’s messaging and organizational problems here. After coming off of his come from behind near-victory in Iowa, instead of pivoting to his economic populist message, Santorum got sucked into fights about social issues. In Concord last week, he mixed it up with a college audience who opposed his views on gay marriage and drug legalization. It may have been admirable in the sense that it showed he has true conviction, but it wasn’t helpful for competing in a state in which 51 percent of the electorate turned out to be either independent or Democratic. Another scheduled appearance at a restaurant in Manchester got pushed outside when the venue turned out to be too small, and Santorum ended up speaking outdoors without a microphone or even so much as a milk crate to stand on, and his words were often drowned out by dozens of protesters. On a chilly morning yesterday, he held a town hall meeting at an outdoor football field in Nashua. At one point during his speech, he implored audience members not to bother clapping, as he noticed them struggling to offer muted applause through their gloves. He said because the weather had been atypically warm, he had decided to take a shot with an outdoor event. The weather didn’t cooperate.
Add the lack of organization to the ceiling that exists for a socially conservative candidate here, and his showing is not surprising. But because he spent so much time here in the past week, this result will likely take some wind out of his sails heading into South Carolina, where the electorate is more favorable to him.
