Santorum Seeks to Convince Undecided Voters

DANIEL ISLAND — It's the same candidate with the same message; the crowds have just grown up around him.

Drawing a crowd that swelled the auditorium of Daniel Island School in the Lowcountry, GOP presidential nominee hopeful Rick Santorum said he's building momentum by convincing crowds he's the right nominee — whether that crowd is 15, 50 or 500.

Still fresh off his Iowa surprise and just beginning in South Carolina, Santorum has been greeted by larger-than-expected crowds.

"In the last week we raised more money than we did in the first nine months of the campaign," Santorum said.

For some in the crowd, the race was between Santorum and front-runner former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. 

Santorum's message is well-received: cut taxes, cut spending, grow military spending since the No. 1 priority of federal government should be national security, pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to keep the debt at 18 percent of gross domestic product and more. 

But he said that's not what distinguishes him from the pack — who all tout cutting taxes and anti-abortion stances. What makes him different is his embrace of his commitment and belief in social conservative values, he said.

"I'm not afraid to talk about it. I understand how faith plus family equals freedom," Santorum said. 

He also said that you can't shrink government without virtues from citizens. And you get virtues by helping the family unit grow by encouraging more families to have children by tripling the tax break on children. 

"You can't have limited government unless you have people who follow virtues," Santorum said. He called children the country's greatest resource. 

John Ward of Hanahan was exactly the type of voter Santorum hopes to reach: undecided. He was "on the edge" and leaning toward the former Pennsylvania legislator, and seeing the politician in person clinched his decision.

Particularly his emphasis on saying "that's not the role of the federal government" and not lying, Ward said. He called Santorum a straight-forward candidate. 

One undecided voter — waffling between Romney and Santorum — asked Santorum to tell her how he would excite voters.

"How many people are excited about a moderate?" Santorum said. "We need to have our side energized." 

With Romney, the campaign will be passionless and many voters will sit at home and not vote — effectively handing the election to President Barack Obama, Santorum said.

"Lots of moderates who may not agree with me on all the issues but want the change that is necessary … they're going to sign on because they don't like what's happening with the current president," Santorum said.

But Santorum's arguments didn't convince all undecided voters in the crowd. Doug Banty of Charleston was still on the fence between Santorum and frontrunner Mitt Romney. And he's leaning toward Romney. 

"I'm still open to be swayed one way or another," Banty said.

What he wants to see is a non-partisan, non-bickering candidate, and while Santorum didn't outright bash any other candidate, Banty wasn't ready to give him his vote. 

"I thought he did a great job though," Banty added.