Two of the dark-horse candidates for the Republican presidential nomination -- former Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania -- focused on Iowa this week as they looked to build momentum going into the straw poll held by the state GOP in Ames next month.
Pawlenty released an ad, which is running inIowa, focusing on his fiscal record in Minnesota. Referring to the budgetary crisis plaguing the North Star State, the ad claims that Pawlenty played hardball with labor unions and Democrats in the state Legislature.
The former Minnesota governor will also be hitting the road in Iowa this week. On Wednesday, he will campaign in Clear Lake before hitting Ames where he will keynote the Story County GOP dinner. On Thursday, Pawlenty will campaign at his state headquarters in Urbandale.
Santorum kicked off his own tour of the Hawkeye State, focusing on jobs and hammering President Barack Obama on the economy.
"The American worker is no longer looking for a president they can believe in, said Santorum on Tuesday. They are looking to elect a president who believes in them, and I believe in the American worker.
"We have seen what happens when government solutions are broadly applied, most vividly in the manufacturing sector, added Santorum. My plan does just the opposite: it frees business from the constraints of burdensome regulations and taxes that do nothing but hold back the American spirit of innovation."
Santorum called for reducing the size and scope of a government that is stifling job creation by slashing taxes, capping spending, passing a federal balanced budget amendment, extending the current capital gains rate and repealing the death tax. He also promised, if elected, to rein in the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), reform the Food and Drug Administration, reduce regulations and repeal Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank. The former senator also took aim at the Obama administrations policies on energy, calling for more exploration in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska.
During an appearance on CNBC on Tuesday morning, Santorum jabbed two of his rivals -- former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and former Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah -- for ignoring Iowa. Romney, who is at the moment the favorite for the Republican nod, is not taking part in the Ames straw poll, while Huntsman, who has attacked federal subsidies for ethanol, is focusing on states and bypassing Iowa. While this tactic has been used before by underdogs seeking the Republican nomination, it rarely works -- the best example being Lamar Alexander attacking George W. Bush in the run-up to the Iowa straw poll in 1999. Despite not investing much in retail politics, Bush won the poll and Alexander, who had run back in 1996 and focused on Iowa to derail Bush, dropped out of the race.
Like Pawlenty, Santorum is campaigning hard in Iowa this week. After appearances on CNBC, CBS and CNN, as well as radio interviews on Tuesday morning, Santorum campaigned in Burlington and Marion on Tuesday. After more media appearances scheduled for Wednesday morning, the campaign trail takes Santorum to Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids and then Dubuque and Cedar Falls. On Thursday, Santorum hits Sheffield, Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge and then Sioux City.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
