Rick Santorum sets sights on Missouri
Without Gingrich on the ballot, the state offers him a chance to go head-to-head with Romney.
COTTLEVILLE, Mo. — Rick Santorum returned to the campaign trail here on Monday, stressing that he plans to make a mark in Missouri’s primary next week.
The former Pennsylvania senator told a crowd of 300 at a community college that Missouri voters this cycle will have “a big role to play” in choosing the GOP nominee.
“We need the bellwether state of Missouri to stand up and say, ‘We want a strong principled conservative, someone who understands the scale of change that’s needed in Washington, D.C.’” Santorum said.
“You have an opportunity here in Missouri in a week’s time to send a message about this race,” Santorum said. “You have an opportunity to send the message that we want someone who can create that stark contrast.”
The Monday policy speech was Santorum’s first public appearance in 72 hours. He canceled three events on Sunday to care for his 3-year-old daughter, Bella, who was admitted to the hospital with a life-threatening case of pneumonia. Santorum said her condition improved enough Sunday afternoon that he felt comfortable resuming his campaign. Indeed, he seemed in high spirits on Monday.
Santorum’s visit to Missouri the day before the Florida primary — where he is expected to place third — marks a shift in the campaign in which the ex-senator is expected to focus on smaller, cheaper states that hold caucuses, and dole out delegates to the convention proportionally. He is focusing particular attention on Missouri because Newt Gingrich is not on the ballot and it offers Santorum a coveted chance to go head to head with Mitt Romney.
Top Santorum strategist John Brabender said Missouri demographics mirror the former senator’s home state of Pennsylvania — Santorum touts the fact that he is a Republican who won a swing state — especially the state’s strong, but declining manufacturing base. He said Santorum, who is almost certain to return to the Show Me State in the next few days, will heavily contrast his blue-collar roots against Romney’s more privileged background in an effort to woo low-income voters.
“A win is for people to start seeing this as a Santorum-Romney race,” Brabender explained.
Missouri’s Feb. 7 primary is a nonbinding popularity contest, and the winner gets no delegates. Delegates will be awarded in caucuses later in the month. As a result, Santorum is now the first candidate to campaign publicly here
Apparently they think Newt will be easy to overtake with his nationwide support and unlimited funding from a couple of billionaires. 
