Watch Rick Santorum New Hampshire Primary Speech

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January 10, 2012 C-SPAN
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QUICK TAKE: Santorum Chalks Romney's Success to N.H. Being His 'Backyard'

By Julia Edwards

Updated: January 10, 2012 | 10:34 p.m.
January 10, 2012 | 10:07 p.m.

 Even after enduring verbal lashings from prospective voters, hosting about a dozen contentious town halls, and failing to make a serious play for first place, Rick Santorum says he has no regrets about his decision to compete in the Granite State.
“I’ve known for a long time that New Hampshire is full of tough questions. People up here take their politics very seriously, and they study the issues very carefully,” Santorum told a National Journal/CBS News reporter as he shook hands with last-minute voters at a polling station at James Mastricola Upper Middle School on Tuesday evening. “So really, no surprises here.”
Asked whether he regrets coming to New Hampshire to compete in the Republican presidential primary, the former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania answered: “No! No. We feel very good. We think we got a lot of positive responses.”

Rick Santorum, slumping in New Hampshire after his near-victory in Iowa, told supporters “we wanted to respect the process here," even though the state was Mitt Romney"s "backyard."
Santorum was close to tying with Newt Gingrich for fourth place. The social-conservative platform that worked in his favor in Iowa was a disadvantage among New Hampshire voters who are typically more interested in fiscal conservatism. He acknowledged that it would be tough to do well in a state like New Hampshire, where, according to Santorum, “a lot of folks spend a lot of time, a lot of money,” a reference to Romney.
“We are going to go on to South Carolina. For those who would like to think that somehow or another that this race can be over in one or two states, states that have been, well, the backyard and the home of a certain candidate, who, by the way, I want to absolutely congratulate Mitt Romney for a great victory tonight.” Santorum said.
He encouraged the party to elect a “true conservative.”
Santorum's speech overlapped with Gingrich's and the two competed for airtime on TV networks.

Santorum: GOP Would Suffer Under Romney

By Ron Fournier

Updated: January 7, 2012 | 10:52 a.m.
January 7, 2012 | 10:08 a.m.

AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum holds up a $20 bill during a campaign stop in Manchester, N.H., Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum warned Saturday that rival Mitt Romney would lead the GOP to defeat in the fall and, even if Romney won, the party would suffer under the former Massachusetts governor’s moderate leadership. “Even if we win,” Santorum said, “we lose.”
Santorum, a conservative former senator trying to slow Romney’s ascent in New Hampshire and South Carolina, declared that he will win the GOP nomination despite the GOP establishment backing Romney.
“I’m running against the establishment,” Santorum told reporters before addressing an Atlantic/National Journal conference on the economy and the electorate. The conference focused on 11 Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor surveys released since 2009.
“I’m the underdog,” Santorum said.
Santorum said his party has a habit of nominating moderate candidates who have been laying in wait and paying their dues. He said that’s not a good recipe for victory, pointing to the general election losses of John McCain in 2008 and Bob Dole in 1996.
“Its Mitt’s turn,” Santorum said sarcastically. “Look how well we’ve done with that.”
Romney might be capable of defeating President Obama, Santorum said, but even that would be a hollow victory, Santorum said, adding that Romney wouldn’t represent the party as well as he would.
“Even if we win, we lose,” Santorum said. “We need somebody who’s not just rearranging deck chairs.”