Santorum: We're in a better place in Iowa than '12

Davenport, Ia. – Rick Santorum officially kicked off his Iowa campaign here Thursday, where the long-shot winner of the 2012 Iowa caucuses told a crowd he's better positioned to win the state than he was four years ago.

Santorum, a Republican and former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, has sought to rebrand himself from a warrior on social issues to a "blue collar conservative" who champions workers left behind in America's recovering economy. He declared his candidacy Wednesday in his home state.

The problem with Santorum's own party, he said in Davenport, is that its solutions to fixing poverty programs is "spend less."

"If the policies are wrong, spending less doesn't help. … When people who are poor or struggling see all your solution is just to spend less or get rid of something, it doesn't communicate that you care," he said.

Santorum has endorsed an increase in the minimum wage, a stance that's set him apart from his GOP rivals for the White House. He's also emphasized his foreign policy credentials ahead of 2016, touting his 12 years in the U.S. Senate and four years in the House.

In Davenport, Santorum pointed to a 2006 piece by New York Times columnist David Brooks calling Santorum's impending Senate loss "bad for poor people around the world," describing him as on the forefront of anti-poverty legislation while in Congress.

Santorum emphasized the importance of manufacturing jobs ahead of his second campaign. He grew up in the "steel valleys" of Pittsburgh, he said Thursday, around the kinds of jobs that communities are built on.

"The only reason those jobs are gone are because the government has made us uncompetitive," Santorum said. "It's not because our workers are uncompetitive."

Scott County marked the first of Iowa's 99 counties Santorum has visited as an official candidate. His relatively shoestring campaign hit all 99 ahead of the 2012 caucuses, appearing at nearly 400 events across the state before narrowly edging out eventual GOP nominee Mitt Romney. Political analysts note he faces a deeper field of Republican stars this time around while he still polls in single digits.

"I know everyone says we've got long odds," Santorum said. "Well, we're at much better odds than we were four years ago. And things turned out pretty good then. I feel pretty good they're going to turn out well this time around, too."

SETTING: The events room in the Machine Shed restaurant in Davenport.

CROWD: More than 80 filled two conjoined rooms, a far larger draw than Santorum had in the early days of his 2012 Iowa campaign.

REACTION: The crowd passionately applauded when Santorum spoke of strengthening families, caring for veterans and empowering U.S. workers. Many huddled around to meet him after his remarks.

WHAT'S NEXT: Santorum is scheduled to speak Friday morning at a Hy-Vee in Council Bluffs.