Politics & Government

Santorum's Ground Game Pays Dividends, GOP Race Heats Up

After disappointing finish in South Carolina, Rick Santorum's campaign found new life with a three-state sweep Tuesday.

For Kerry Wood, Rick Santorum's campaign ended weeks ago. 

Wood, the director of Santorum's South Carolina campaign, hasn't just avoided campaigning for the former Pennsylvania senator after the Jan. 21 South Carolina primary — he's avoided presidential politics altogether. 

"I have nothing else to do with that campaign," Wood said. "I didn't want to go into another state — I know a lot of other people did. After Jan. 21,  I helped close down offices, I helped pack stuff up afterwards, but after that, my focus shifted elsewhere." 

Find out what's happening in Greer-Taylorswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The excitement and chaos of the South Carolina primary may seem like a distant memory to many in the Palmetto State now. Santorum finished a distant third to Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney in January, but has since rebounded in a big way by scoring a three-state sweep in Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado.

Now, Santorum — who surged to a win in Iowa and finished fourth in New Hampshire before falling short in South Carolina — is now back in the conversation as the anti-Mitt Romney conservative. The 2012 GOP vetting process has seen an ebb and flow that's undoubtedly kept the race entertaining. 

Find out what's happening in Greer-Taylorswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Politics is fun. Santorum is proving that a steady ground game is important and that there are lots of people, especially among conservatives, who still don't like Romney," said Danielle Vinson, political science chair at Furman University in Greenville. 

"Ideologically, Santorum is a good fit for conservatives, especially social conservatives. He's got the blue collar background that appeals these days."

Wood has intentionally ignored Santorum's national campaign and the presidential campaign overall since Jan. 21. 

Instead, he's turned his attention to numerous statewide campaigns, such as Deedee Vaughters' race against longtime Democratic incumbent Nikki Setzler in the S.C. Senate, and Jim Lee's race against Sen. David Thomas. 

"It (Santorum's sweep) was a very pleasant surprise. After any campaign, I turn off the news to decompress. I just immediately turn it off, so I really wasn't following presidential politics until I saw that. It blew me away when it happened," Wood said. "Nothing has changed. I still hope he's the nominee." 

Whether or not he's the nominee may now hinge not on nebulous concepts like "electability," but on logistical issues like fundraising. 

"I don't know if he can continue this unless he can get a lot more money soon," Vinson said. "We're getting to the stage where he can't be in all the states that will be voting on the same day or in a short time frame, and that's where Romney's money for ads and organization may come into play."

Meanwhile, Gingrich, who has vowed to carry his campaign into the convention, is seeing reality and history catch up to him. 

"Reality — he doesn't have the money to answer Romney with ads, and Romney has decided Newt was his target," Vinson said. "History — all those establishment Republicans, think Bob Dole — who weren't particularly fond of him even when he was leading Republicans in the 1990s started reminding people that while Newt had vision and helped Republicans win the majority in 1995, he also brought a lot of unnecessary chaos and drama and overreached in ways that cost Republicans seats in elections.

"Some Republicans want a fight in this election, but they aren't too fond of drama and chaos in the White House."

Still, Vinson said, a protracted GOP race could be abruptly interrupted if Romney, with the Republican establishment and fundraising behind him, were to run the table on "Super Tuesday" - the day of the Alaska, Georgia, Massachusetts, Idaho, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia primaries. 

Robert Oldendick, political science professor at the University of South Carolina, remains skeptical of actual power of Santorum's surprising sweep. 

"Santorum had a week much like Gingrich had in South Carolina, in which everything that happened seemed to break in his favor," Oldendick said. "Given the relative lack of importance of yesterday's primaries, Romney's campaign is largely playing defense and campaigning more actively in the Super Tuesday states. Similarly, with Gingrich who chose not to expend a lot of resources on yesterday's primaries, but is instead trying to pull off a victory or two in the Super Tuesday states."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Greer-Taylors