Santorum calls crowd of 4 in rural Iowa a success

HAMLIN, Ia. – When just one Iowan showed up to Rick Santorum's 2 p.m. campaign stop at a restaurant here Monday, the winner of the 2012 Iowa caucuses made a quick decision: Might as well order lunch.

"I haven't eaten, actually, all day," he said to his guest, Peggy Toft, an insurance agent and chair of the county's Republican Party.

For Santorum, who's making a second go at the Republican nomination for president, the low turnout wasn't surprising, he said, but all part of the plan.

He spent 2011 building momentum in Iowa by touring all 99 of the state's counties, speaking one on one to voters in sparsely populated stretches of the state. He scraped together two committed caucusgoers here, another two there, ultimately defeating Mitt Romney, the GOP's eventual nominee, by 34 votes in Iowa.

MORE: Santorum: Jeb Bush agrees with me on immigration points

He went on to win 11 states through relentless campaigning and a focus on Christian conservatives. But this time around, he faces a deeper and more talented field of GOP rivals. He plans to win Iowa again through an appeal to blue-collar voters and, again, nonstop campaigning across Iowa.

"It's not glamorous, and you're not out there raising money, but you're doing what the money is ultimately supposed to do — getting votes," said Santorum, who earlier in the day drew 10 people to a noon meeting in nearby Panora. "This is a lot more fun than being on the phone raising money."

So in the middle of the workday in Hamlin, a township of under 300 people, Santorum said he saw one person as a good crowd.

"They're known for their breaded tenderloins, but there's a lot of good choices here," Toft told Santorum as he eyed the menu.

Another woman, one of four photographers in the room, recommended the rhubarb pie.

"Rhubarb pie? Are you a reporter here?" Santorum asked.

"Local reporter," she said, "and I work here part-time."

Santorum settled on the tenderloin with a side of onion rings. By the time they showed up, three more Iowans had entered the restaurant and found their way to his table.

He compared the stop to the film "Caucus," the 2013 documentary that chronicled Santorum's sometimes quirky encounters with Iowans in intimate settings ahead of his win.

"This is what I did a lot of" in the film, he said. "I met with small groups of people, and I ate in front of the camera."

One newcomer, Glen Meyers, a minister from nearby Exira, asked Santorum for his thoughts on same-sex marriage. Santorum called it a threat not just to family but religious liberty

"This is where the left is saying, 'Here is what your belief system should be, and anyone who does not toe the line, you're a hater, you're a bigot, you're intolerant and you will not be tolerated,'" Santorum said.

The pastor seemed pleased with the response: "That was pretty good."

Later, after posing for a couple of photos and shaking hands, Santorum stood outside the diner and called the event a success.

"People don't understand. One guy in there said, 'I'll speak for you at the caucus,'" Santorum said. "That's maybe eight votes that you wouldn't otherwise get. Eight votes can make a big difference, as I know."

About Santorum's stops

SETTING: In Hamlin, Santorum appeared at Darrell's Place, a bar and grill. He appeared earlier in Panora, at Panora Telecom Solutions.

CROWD: Four Iowans gathered for Santorum in Hamlin, not counting media and campaign aides. In Panora, he saw 10.

REACTION: Both stops drew Iowans who asked Santorum tough questions and listened attentively.

WHAT'S NEXT: Santorum was scheduled to later visit a deli in Carroll and a restaurant in Denison on Monday. He was slated to visit Iowa Falls, Grundy Center, Parkersburg and Hampton on Tuesday.

Find a calendar with details of planned visits by presidential contenders at DesMoinesRegister.com/CandidateTracker