OTTUMWA, IOWA — Rick Santorum saw this coming.
For months, he’s promised reporters (and anyone else that would listen) his moment was just around the corner. With the results of the final Des Moines Register poll before the Iowa caucuses showing him moving into second place behind Mitt Romney over the past two days, I asked him if he thought the numbers vindicated his old-school Iowa campaign strategy.
“Everybody has their strengths and weaknesses,” Santorum said. “Mitt Romney has a lot of money, I have a lot of energy. And that’s the difference and I think the people of Iowa can determine what’s going to make the person successful — whether you have energy and ideas, willing to face the tough questions and do the tough interviews and be available to reporters, or someone who can raise a lot of money.”
Santorum has every right to take a victory lap like this. While his opponents were running a national campaign and barely (by past caucus standards) setting foot in the Hawkeye State, Santorum pressed ahead with a classic strategy to win over Iowans. He visited every county, picked up the endorsement from the secretary of state and social conservative leaders, met with voters and all but moved his whole family into Iowa for a time.
On the trail with Santorum on Saturday, it was clear that this effort was paying off. Enthusiastic Santorum supporters spoke about his willingness to spend the time in Iowa and come to see them and take their questions. They also said they liked his tough stances on immigration and his social conservative convictions. Iran, which he loves to discuss, was also a highlight among the voters I talked to.
But as one undecided voter told me Friday, the kind personal contact Santorum has made his trademark here is the key in the caucus fight.
Santorum didn’t get here alone, though. The millions in ads that crushed the Gingrich surged gave him an opening and Michele Bachmann’s inability to secure those evangelical endorsements helped, too.
How it all ends is unclear. Santorum certainly seems ready to push on — he asked Iowans here tonight for donations so he can buy more ads in South Carolina and New Hampshire (where he starts a TV spot next week).
I asked Santorum if he could point to a single moment when his fortunes changed.
“I’m the tortoise,” he said.
