Chuck Laudner, a Iowa political operative who was Rep. Steve King’s chief of staff at one point, endorsed Rick Santorum today. The Iowa Republican’s Craig Robinson explains why it’s a valuable endorsement for Santorum:
Laudner’s endorsement of Santorum comes at a critical time. Santorum has done a good job of getting to know Iowans by campaigning in every county in the state. People like Santorum. They openly say so, but he has yet to seal the deal with many of them. Laudner provides the Santorum campaign with two key things.
First, he provides a signal that even though Santorum’s poll numbers don’t reflect much movement, conservatives are beginning to coalesce around his campaign. Secondly, Laudner provides the campaign with someone who can twist a few arms, which is something the Santorum campaign lacks.
Laudner is hands down the best-connected conservative activists in the state. Not only does he have strong ties to Congressman King, Bob Vander Plaats, and Steve Scheffler, but he has connections to grassroots activists in all 99 counties. Having Laudner on board should allow the Santorum campaign to target key social conservative activists who are currently sitting on the sidelines and get them to support Santorum’s campaign.
Full piece here.