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The winner of the Iowa caucuses does not always win his party's nomination. But a win, or even a strong showing, does bring attention, momentum and campaign money. And that's exactly what Rick Santorum is counting on for tomorrow.
The former Pennsylvania senator has spent many, many days in Iowa. Polls show him gaining on front-runners Mitt Romney and Ron Paul. Until recently, Santorum looked like a long-shot candidate, but he is relying on Christian conservatives, some of the same people who propelled Mike Huckabee to a win in 2008.
Here's NPR's Ted Robbins.
JEANNE ZYZDA: Thank you. Thanks for your help.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1: Keep applying. Thank you. God bless.
TED ROBBINS, BYLINE: Jeanne Zyzda did not expect more than a hundred people in her Sioux City coffee shop, the Daily Grind - not all at once, and not on a holiday.
ZYZDA: Normally, we're not open on New Year's Day. Normally, we're not open on Sundays at all, but they...
ROBBINS: But Zyzda and her husband are Rick Santorum supporters. So when they got a call from the campaign asking them to hold a rally in the restaurant, they obliged. The big turnout was a change for the former Pennsylvania senator, too. He was the first to visit all 99 counties in Iowa. But sometimes, he'd stop at places like this and get more suggestions than support.
RICK SANTORUM: I do remember several people coming up to me, and giving me pointers on how I can improve my presentation.
(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)
SANTORUM: And - no, I'm being - absolutely true. And I got to tell you, I appreciated that.
ROBBINS: Rick Santorum is fond of saying he's a much better candidate, thanks to the people of Iowa. Now, he's the candidate with momentum. But his core message? It's the same.
SANTORUM: Having that strong foundation of the faith and family allows America to be in a position where we can be more free. We can be free because we are good, decent, moral people.
ROBBINS: For Santorum, that means cutting government regulation, making Americans less dependent on government aid, fewer people getting food stamps, Medicaid and other forms of aid - especially one group.
SANTORUM: I don't want to make black people's lives better by giving them somebody else's money. I want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #2: Right.
SANTORUM: And provide for themselves and their families.
(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE)
SANTORUM: And the best way to do that...
ROBBINS: Santorum did not elaborate on why he singled out blacks who rely on federal assistance. The voters here didn't seem to care.
Shelle Baldwin and her husband own a cattle-feed lot near Sioux City. She's a longtime Santorum supporter, and she is just thrilled that he's finally getting the attention she thinks he deserves.
SHELLE BALDWIN: We always were really hopeful that the country would see that we needed somebody like him and that really, there were people in this country that share the same beliefs and the values that he did.
ROBBINS: Others - like Elizabeth Lee and Lee Ehrhardt - still haven't decided which Christian conservative candidate to vote for.
ELIZABETH LEE: I'm leaning towards Santorum going into the caucus Tuesday but...
ROBBINS: Well, who else would it be for you?
LEE: We're still kind of leaning towards Bachmann, and then there's also - is it Perry?
LEE EHRHARDT: I like him, too.
LEE: There's three, yeah.
EHRHARDT: Those three are about tied.
ROBBINS: For Rick Santorum to win the Iowan caucuses, or come close, he needs those potential Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry votes. He left Sioux City yesterday hopeful he'll get them.
SANTORUM: Please help us out. You will send a shockwave across this country.
ROBBINS: Even a third-place finish for Santorum tomorrow would prove his long commitment to Iowa paid off.
Ted Robbins, NPR News, Sioux City, Iowa.