Santorum Receives Key Iowa Endorsements

Move over, Michele Bachmann.  You might have some competition on the Right.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum, who is now running at 5 percent in Iowa, according to the latest American Research Group survey, picked up two key endorsements from social conservatives this week in the first battleground state of the 2012 Republican presidential sweepstakes.

Ben Lange, a young conservative lawyer who nearly unseated Democratic lawmaker Bruce Braley last year, endorsed Santorum on Thursday.

“Conservatives are hungry for a candidate with the ability to articulate conservative principles, apply those principles to the serious economic problems we now face, and ultimately lead a national conservative movement,” Lange said in a statement.

“Senator Santorum has proven he can lead on the national stage, having fought for and won key battles for the conservative movement.  As my fellow Iowans learn more about Senator Santorum and all that he has achieved, I believe they will find the candidate they have been looking for.”

Earlier this week, Santorum received the endorsement of pro-life activist Kim Lehman, a member of the Republican National Committee and former leader of Iowa Right to Life.

“I believe that he lives and breathes his conservative politics, he fights for them, and he’s a well-rounded candidate,” Lehman told POLITICO on Wednesday.  “He’s versed in national, international, social and economic issues.  The crisis time that we’re in, we need someone who is willing to take up that fight, and I see him from his experience as someone who takes up that fight.”

Lehman and Lange are expected to assist the former Pennsylvania senator’s campaign in the Ames Straw Poll on August 13.