Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum has been in Iowa for several events in the last couple of days campaign on behalf of several state candidates and to encourage Iowans to vote no on retaining the Iowa Supreme Court justices on the ballot this year. Santorum has also created an Iowa PAC which has donated around $50,000. Yesterday morning he spoke at a breakfast meeting held monthly for Des Moines area conservatives.
He told the group that Iowa helped set the tone for 2008 starting with the 2006 midterm elections and can do so again starting with the 2010 midterms. He said that turnout is key, and that this is the “most important election in his lifetime.” He was optimistic about the possible outcome for Republicans noting a recent USA Today poll that showed a big enthusiasm gap between the GOP and Democrats.
He said that while he expects Republicans to win back the House and that they’ll make gains in the Senate he warned the group that it shouldn’t be a “pop the Champaign” moment on November 2nd. He said that it would actually “be a slog.” He reminded those in attendance that President Barack Obama will still be in office, and that Republicans won’t likely be able to get much if anything done the next two years because of that. He also said that President Obama will use the opportunity to paint the Republican Congress as “do nothing.”
He noted that is why state elections are so important because it gives Republicans the opportunity to demonstrate that they can govern when they challenge Obama in 2012.