Rick Santorum urges New Hampshire voters to back candidate of change

By Shira Schoenberg, Globe Correspondent

BRENTWOOD, N.H. – Choose a Republican presidential candidate who can quickly and effectively fix the problems of America, not just one who can win election, Rick Santorum implored voters tonight in a town hall meeting.

The former senator from Pennsylvania has been a frequent, if under-the-radar, presence on the stump in New Hampshire for the past four months. But after surging to within eight votes of winning Iowa Tuesday, Santorum faced a standing-room only crowd at the Rockingham County nursing home hall.

Santorum lost Iowa to front-runner Mitt Romney, who holds a commanding lead in New Hampshire polls. While Santorum did not mention Romney’s name in his exhortation to New Hampshire voters, it was clearly aimed at the former Massachusetts governor, who has made electability a crucial component of his own appeals to voters.

Republicans, he said, should not settle for “someone who can win but then can’t do, won’t do, has no track record of doing the big things that are necessary to change the country.”

The interest was palpable in Santorum’s first New Hampshire event since the caucuses. The room, which had capacity to seat 160 people, was packed with voters and journalists standing in the aisles and lining the walls. It was a sharp contrast to his 100-plus previous town halls in New Hampshire, some of which attracted just a few dozen people.

While a few voters said they were supporters, many more said they were undecided, but inspired to learn more about Santorum. “I’m here to listen,” said Marlene Heichlinger, a retiree from Raymond, who is an evangelical Christian and independent voter. “I love his statement, ‘faith family and freedom.’ With Iowa, his name was at the forefront all of a sudden.”

Santorum took numerous questions for over an hour. He addressed Social Security policy and health care policy. Asked about climate change, he said action to prevent it is unnecessary.

“Most scientists, I assume all scientists, would agree there are a variety of factors that would cause climate to change,’’ he said. “Why have we decided this one particular factor, carbon dioxide, is the tip of the tail that wags the entire dog?”

A campaign aide said Santorum plans to stay in New Hampshire through the primary Tuesday. He has five public stops planned for tomorrow. He does not yet have plans to buy advertising.

He has his work cut out for him. Few expect Santorum to experience the same type of surge he did in Iowa. New Hampshire’s conservative evangelical community is much smaller than Iowa’s. Evangelical Protestants make up about 24 percent of the population in Iowa, compared to just 11 percent in New Hampshire and Vermont, according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, whose data combines the two states.

Shira Schoenberg can be reached at sschoenberg@globe.com