SIOUX CITY, Iowa – There were tears at Rick Santorum’s event here Sunday afternoon.
But unlike at a Newt Gingrich event days earlier, they were shed by Santorum’s supporters, not by the candidate himself.
In a corner of the coffee shop, a television was tuned to CNN, which was airing live video of the event.
Sam Clovis, an Iowa radio host who introduced Santorum after Thor and has been traveling with the candidate on the trail, also got choked up as he praised the former Pennsylvania senator.
“On Tuesday night, we will do something incredible in this nation,” Clovis said, his voice wavering. “We will send a signal to everyone that this nation cares about its Constitution, it cares about its government, it cares about family, it cares about freedom, it cares about the primacy of faith in America.”
He was greeted with shouts of “Amen!” and “Yes!”
The outbursts of emotion were reflective of the growing enthusiasm among Santorum’s supporters as polls show his candidacy gaining traction in the run-up to Tuesday’s GOP presidential caucuses.
A Saturday night Des Moines Register poll showed Santorum in third place behind former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.), with 15 percent among likely caucus-goers.
If Santorum prevails at Tuesday’s caucuses, it will be due in no small part to his popularity among social conservatives, whose support for his candidacy was evident at Sunday’s event. Cary Gordon, an influential pastor who endorsed Santorum last month, opened with a brief prayer, as the candidate and the scores of Iowans jammed into the downtown coffee shop bowed their heads.
Also on display was the sentiment – expressed frequently by Santorum’s supporters -- that their man is the true conservative in the race and the best choice for the Republican Party, regardless of what the national polls say.
“We’ve got to do the right thing, no matter what anybody says,” Gordon said as he introduced Santorum. “And we’ve found ourselves a Mr. Smith, who will do the right thing, no matter what anybody says.”
Even as the crowd showed its enthusiasm for Santorum, supporters also did not spare him from some tough questions after his brief opening remarks, and several stood on chairs in order to catch the candidate’s attention. One question was a query that has often dogged Santorum among conservatives: a man asked about his support in 2004 for Arlen Specter, the former Republican-turned-Democratic senator who faced a tough challenge from former Club for Growth president (and current senator) Pat Toomey (R).
“When people ask me about Arlen Specter, I have two words to say: Roberts and Alito,” Santorum responded, arguing that the two conservative Supreme Court justices would not have been chosen were it not for Specter.
Later, a woman standing on a chair yelled out “Rick!” and asked to know what Santorum would do about illegal immigration.
“I’m a Steve King guy on immigration,” Santorum said in a nod to the conservative Iowa congressman who has yet to thrown his support behind a candidate in the current GOP race. The crowd applauded knowingly at the reference, and Santorum added with a laugh: “I don’t even have to say what that means.”
King is well know for his hard line on illegal immigration and border security.
For a brief moment, Santorum – who was joined at the event by his daughter Elizabeth and son John – became emotional when he talked about the effect of his presidential campaign on his family.
“This is not – it’s not the best time in my life to run for president of the United States,” he said. “But this is the most important election of my life.”
Santorum’s youngest daughter, Isabella, is seriously ill with the genetic disorder Trisomy 18.
He largely stayed positive in his stump speech, although he criticized Paul by name on foreign policy and later poked a little fun at Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s (R) debate performances.
The size of the crowd appeared to take many by surprise; a man who tried to enter the coffee shop halfway through Santorum’s speech shook his head in disbelief as he jockeyed for a spot near the door.
The event was Santorum’s first of New Year’s Day; after greeting supporters on his way out, he headed off for Orange City and then further north to Rock Rapids, just six miles south of the Minnesota border.
As he has at his other Iowa stops in recent days, Santorum called on those at Sunday’s town hall to wield their first-in-the-nation clout to send a message and “lead this country.”
“Don’t put forward somebody who isn’t good enough to do what’s necessary to change this country,” he said. “Put forward someone that you know has the vision, the trust, the authenticity, the background and the record to make that happen.”
“That’s you!” a woman exclaimed as the crowd broke into applause.
