Republican presidential candidates all have one central theme to their campaign rhetoric, for Rick Santorum its Christianity.
During a campaign stop at a restaurant in South Carolina Sunday, Mr. Santorum told a crowd of supporters why the U.S. has been able to be a world super power.
“The United States is successful not because of its powerful military, its economic system or its form of government,” said Mr. Sanoturm, The New York Times reports. ”It is successful because of the American people’s faith in God. The news media don’t get it, and I’m running against a president who doesn’t believe it.”
The former Pennsylvania senator added though that the people of South Carolina do “get it,” regarding the intertwining of politics and religion.
Mr. Santorum is hoping that his popularity among evangelical Christians will help him achieve a top tier finish in the South Carolina Republican primary election on Saturday. Though it appears he will face an uphill battle, as a Public Polling Policy poll of South Carolina voters released Friday shows Mr. Santorum in fourth place behind Texas congressman Ron Paul. Mr. Paul finished with 15 percent while Mr. Santorum garnered 14 percent of the votes in the poll.
Those results are surprising considering Mr. Santorum’s hardcore aggressive appeal to conservative Christian voters. According to The Los Angeles Times, over 60 percent of Republican voters in South Carolina identify themselves as evangelical Christians. Thus, Mr. Santorum finishing the poll behind Mr. Paul is an indication that while evangelicals respect his commitement to his faith, they seem to be more concerned with issues facing their state’s economy and the U.S. economy in general.
Mr. Santorum’s come from behind second place finish in Iowa pushed him into serious contention for the Republican nomination. However, the unemployment rates in Iowa and New Hampshire are relatively low compared to the 9.9 percent unemployment rate in South Carolina; A reflection of recent polls that show Bain Capital co-founder Mitt Romney leading on a campaign platform of job creation and economic reform.
The former Pennsylvania senator though presents a stark contrast to Mr. Romney on the campaign trail. He constantly refers to Christian values and religion when giving responses to questions about the domestic and foreign policy issues that concern Republican voters.
In contrast, Mr. Romney rarely speaks of his Mormon faith and centers his campaign rhetoric completely around what he sees as President Barack Obama’s failed handling of the U.S. economy over the last three years.
The Public Polling Policy poll released Friday showed that a total of 23 percent of the voters in South Carolina said they would feel uncomfortable having a Mormon president.
However, neither the Mormon factor or the heavy evangelical presence in South Carolina has made Mr. Santorum a favorite to win the South Carolina Republican primary election, unless he pulls off a late last minute surge the way he did in Iowa. The South Carolina primary focus has surrounded the ongoing feud between Mr. Romney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Throughout most of last week, a group of more than 100 evangelical Christian leaders from across the country met in Texas to decide who their favored candidate would be. CNN reported that they ultimately chose Mr. Santorum on Friday, but recent polls have showed that their support has done little to sway voters in South Carolina.
Mr. Santorum’s conservative Christian message has definitely had a better reception in South Carolina than it did in New Hampshire last week though. The former Pennsylvania senator was often booed by crowds there in opposition to his Christian backed views regarding gay marriage and abortion rights.
Mr. Santorum will have two chances to engage voters in South Carolina and across the nation this week with his conservative Christian campaign platform in the two nationally televised presidential candidate debates in South Carolina on Monday and Thursday prior to the election on Saturday.
