Santorum touts Iowa win as sign right will rally to his campaign

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Rick Santorum said that his victory in the certified vote count in Iowa was evidence that conservatives would rally behind his campaign as the GOP field winnowed in the days prior to South Carolina’s primary.

“This is a solid win … a much stronger win than what Gov. Romney claimed with an uncertified vote,” Santorum said. “We can win elections, we can organize — we defeated Mitt Romney in Iowa.”

{mosads}He also addressed an interview that Newt Gingrich’s second ex-wife gave to ABC News, in which she describes the former House Speaker requesting an “open marriage,” arguing conservatives should rally around a candidate without baggage.

“We have to nominate someone who is going to make Barack Obama the issue in the race, not be the issue,” Santorum said.

Speaking at a windswept park under a bridge in downtown Charleston, Santorum told a crowd of around 100 supporters that while he wished Rick Perry and his family the best, he did not expect the Texas governor’s endorsement of Gingrich would automatically drive voters to the former Georgia Republican.

“What we’ve seen in the first two primary states is that conservatives will coalesce around us,” he said.

And while he called the interview with Marianne Gingrich “cheap” and “tawdry,” he also blasted Gingrich for “routinely putting [social] issues on the back of the bus.”

“He has not ever led on these issues. … We know when it comes to it, he will push them aside and focus on other things,” Santorum said.

Gingrich has taken the lead in recent polls of South Carolina, which holds its primary on Saturday. Santorum is fourth in most polls, following Mitt Romney and Ron Paul.

The former senator was joined at the event by Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, the conservative Christian group founded by James Dobson. While Perkins himself did not endorse Santorum — citing a long-standing policy of the organization — he did accept one of Santorum’s trademark sweater vests.

“Tony, congratulations, wear it with pride,” Santorum joked.

Dobson endorsed Santorum on Thursday.

But while Santorum was happy to play up his credentials as a social conservative, the event also attracted some unwanted attention. His comments during the question-and-answer session were interrupted by a group of about 30 protesters denouncing the former senator’s position on gay marriage. The group threw glitter in the air and chanted about marriage equality until police officers ordered them to head to another section of the park.