In one of my final official duties as chair of the South Carolina Republican Party, I had the honor of hosting the FOX News-sponso
red First in the South, Republican Presidential Primary Debate last month in Greenville, SC. As I watched the debate, I was struck by how Rick Santorum’s words connected with the audience. At that time an unannounced candidate about whom little was known by the average Palmetto State voter, Santorum generated one of the most enthusiastic cheers of the evening after he was asked a question about Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels’ call for a “truce” on social values.
“I think anybody who would suggest that we call a truce on the moral issues doesn’t understand what America is all about,” Santorum said as the auditorium burst into applause.
Such steadfast and unwavering belief in social conservatism not only makes Santorum a force to be reckoned with in Iowa, it is a message that soundly resonates in South Carolina, the state that every eventual Republican nominee has won.
From South Carolina’s perspective, I believe there is more to Santorum’s burgeoning prospects, polls taken eight months before the Iowa caucuses notwithstanding. He is quietly building an experienced and capable campaign team here, and is hewing close to the model Gov. Mike Huckabee used to become a legitimate contender for the nomination in 2008.
Like Huckabee, Santorum has been very active in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, visiting each nearly 20 times. And as voters initially attracted to his message of social values have gotten to know him better, I have heard from many who also find him to be a charismatic Constitutionalist, an articulate speaker able to distinguish his positions on limited government and conservative economic policy with an uncommon amount of nuance and clarity.
Does Santorum have a shot at being the GOP standard-bearer? While I personally have committed to remain impartial and objective, the activists with whom I have spoken across the state would answer yes.
