Santorum Picks Up Powerful Former Bachmann Supporter in N.H.

From The Hill

By Cameron Joseph

A former top advisor for Michele Bachmann's New Hampshire campaign has endorsed Rick Santorum for president.

Karen Testerman, a social conservative leader in the state, is the founder of Cornerstone Policy Research. She was also a top Bachmann advisor in the state, but quit along with four others in late October, saying the national campaign was ignoring their state. On Wednesday, she sang Santorum's praises.

"Since meeting Rick Santorum a decade ago, I have observed his unwavering support for the core values of family, faith and freedom," she said. "He is the one candidate who is casting a vision for America beyond eight years. Not only does Rick Santorum's record match his rhetoric, I am confident that he is the one who is ready to lead America to greatness. I look forward to working with him towards the New Hampshire first-in-the-nation primary."

Testerman's decision to support Santorum indicates he may have some momentum with social conservatives after making an all-out push to woo them for the last year. Still, social conservatives are a much less significant voting bloc in New Hampshire than in other early-voting states.

But if Santorum replicate his success with her woo social conservatives, a large swing bloc in Iowa and South Carolina that remains largely unsettled on a candidate, he could gain some traction in the GOP presidential field.