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    January 05, 2012

Santorum Faces Tough Battle for White House

   VOA News
   Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Senator Rick
   Santorum reaches to greet children during a campaign stop in Brentwood,
   New Hampshire, January 4, 2012.
   Photo: AP
   Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Senator Rick
   Santorum reaches to greet children during a campaign stop in Brentwood,
   New Hampshire, January 4, 2012.

   U.S. Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has turned his
   focus to New Hampshire, the location of the next nominating contest,
   after a surprisingly strong performance in Iowa launched him to the
   forefront of the race.
   The former Pennsylvania senator narrowly lost by eight votes to Mitt
   Romney in Tuesday's Iowa caucuses. Santorum's popularity was in the low
   single digits until recently, giving him little hope of being a top
   contender.
   He now faces a tough battle in New Hampshire, a state that favors
   former Massachusetts governor Romney, the Republican presidential
   front-runner. Santorum is also facing the challenge of developing a
   strong campaign outside Iowa, where he had focused his limited
   resources and small staff.
   Iowa-Mitt-Romney

AP

   Former Massachusetts governor and Republican presidential hopeful,
   Mitt-Romney

   Romney's narrow eight-vote victory in Iowa was followed on Wednesday by
   an endorsement from Senator John McCain, the 2008 Republican
   presidential candidate. Romney has a wide lead in the New Hampshire
   polls, but he has struggled to get more than 25 percent support in
   national opinion polls.
   He and Santorum both had 25 percent of the votes in Iowa, the first
   nominating contest of the 2012 presidential election.
   The Republican field narrowed on Wednesday after Minnesota
   Congresswoman Michele Bachmann withdrew her candidacy after placing
   sixth among the Republicans in Iowa.
   The remaining six candidates are focusing the January 10 primary in New
   Hampshire and the following contest in South Carolina, all in hopes of
   being chosen to challenge President Barack Obama in the November
   election.
   Ron Paul, a Texas congressman and anti-war advocate, placed a close
   third in Iowa, and was finishing second behind Romney in the polls in
   New Hampshire.
   Former House speaker Newt Gingrich also remains in the race, and is
   using negative ads targeting Romney to attempt a comeback in New
   Hampshire. He blames attack ads linked to the Romney campaign for a
   lackluster fourth place finish in Iowa.
   Texas Governor Rick Perry vowed to continue his campaign on Wednesday,
   after saying he would reassess his presidential bid following a poor
   showing in Iowa. He told supporters in a tweet that he would campaign
   in South Carolina, ahead of that state's primary election January 21.
   Former U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman came in last with 1 percent in the
   Iowa polls. He is pinning his hopes on a good showing in the New
   Hampshire, where he has been focusing his campaign efforts.
   President Obama made his first campaign stop of 2012 in Ohio on
   Wednesday. The president faces a difficult campaign to win a second
   term because of the sluggish economy.
   Republicans hoping to win the White House have been vocal critics of
   the president, saying they hope to repeal health care reform and change
   the direction of the country.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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