Rick Santorum: The X Factor

(LIN) – Last month, few would have guessed former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., would be leading the favorite and former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., in the race for the Republican nomination for president. 

Before his three-state sweep in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado on Feb. 7, Santorum was holding on in last place. His only victory was in Iowa and he often faced calls from other candidates to abandon his presidential bid.

 “The longer conservatives stay split, the harder it's going to be for us to [beat Romney],” former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., said. “And I think that we risk not being able to beat Obama unless we get a conservative. I have to win the nomination.”

At the time, Gingrich and Romney were atop the polls.

Now the tables have turned.

Santorum’s blue-collar message is striking a chord with voters and now he and Romney battling it out for the top spot.

 “Ladies and gentlemen, we need someone who understands, who comes from the coal fields, who comes from the steel mills, who understands what average working people in America need to be able to provide for themselves and their families,” said Santorum at a campaign stop in Ohio.

In his speeches, he paints his competition as out of touch with everyday folks.

 “I do my own taxes," Santorum said at a recent campaign stop in Michigan. "Heck, Romney paid half the taxes I did. He doesn't do his own taxes. Maybe I should hire an accountant in the future."

Santorum’s attacks toward Romney also help to accentuate Romney’s inability to connect working class white voters. In one poll , Santorum attracts 36 percent of that same demographic to Romney’s 23 percent.

"Maybe I think he is more like me," said Ohio’s David Diyani, of Santorum. "I feel like I can relate to him."

Besides his blue-collar campaign style, Santorum is also known for his passionate stances on social issues. At the start of the campaign cycle, the media dubbed him “the social conservative.” He’s an adamant right-to-life, pro-traditional marriage candidate who doesn’t shy away from picking fights with President Barack Obama’s policies.

When the White House mandated that insurers of religious institutions must provide contraceptive services to their employees as part of health care reform, Santorum was on the forefront in criticizing the administration.

“I think that's an infringement upon their religious liberties," Santorum said at one campaign stop. "You can see why they [the Obama administration] don't stand up for religious liberties. It's pretty obvious that they don't think religious liberties are particularly a high priority,” he said at another stop.

Yet as he commands a larger spotlight, Santorum faces more media scrutiny.

In an Ohio speech, Santorum said Obama believed in “some phony theology , not a theology based on the Bible.” Some in the media thought he was questioning the president’s religious beliefs.

Santorum clarified his remarks on “ Face the Nation .” “I am talking about his world view, and the way he approaches problems in this country. I think they’re different than how most people do in America,” he said.

Santorum, Romney and the rest of the field bring the media circus to Arizona for an all important Republican presidential debate on Wednesday.

With primaries in Arizona and Michigan less than a week away, it will be interesting to see if Santorum can hang onto his momentum.