Rick Santorum hits the accelerator on campaign

Rick Santorum hits the accelerator on campaign Image

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – Rick Santorum spent the last Saturday afternoon before the Tuesday presidential nominating caucus hopping between towns in Marion County, making his final pitch to voters who gave Mike Huckabee a huge margin in 2008.

"We’re doing a little speed-dating here in the last day or two,’’ Santorum told a group of only about 15 voters who turned up at the Sprint Car Hall of Fame, next to a racing oval and grandstand in Knoxville. He spent about half an hour among the antique racing cars and displays of memorabilia, compared to his usual town hall meetings of an hour.

"We’re at this museum, we have to do something fast,’’ he quipped, before appearing in an interview with CNN and hopping in a pickup truck for his next meeting with a larger group of voters, in Pella.

Marion County is friendly territory for social conservatives like Santorum, who has made Christian values a centerpiece of his campaign. Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and Christian pastor, captured 1,136 votes in the county in 2008. The next highest vote-getter was Mitt Romney, who had just 301 votes.

Santorum, a former US senator from Pennsylvania, told voters to ignore the polls that show him in third or fourth place, running behind Romney and Ron Paul. He said he is an electable and tough campaigner who could take a strong fight to President Obama in 2012. He accused the Democratic incumbent of stifling the economy with excessive regulations.

"You wonder why this economy is not strong? It’s because this president is crushing it,’’ he said. Santorum said he hoped voters would "see the fire, see the commitment’’ in his campaign

"This is the most important election in your lifetime,’’ he said. " I don’t care how old you are.’’

Christopher Rowland can reached at crowland@globe.com

Rick Santorum hits the accelerator on campaign