Legendary conservative activist Richard Viguerie threw his support behind Rick Santorum on Monday after attending a meeting of social conservative leaders in Texas over the weekend.
Viguerie supported the former Pennsylvania Senator from the beginning of the meeting, but said in a statement that he would back the group’s “consensus candidate, whoever that turned out to be.” (Full coverage of the 2012 elections)
“After two ballots the group had narrowed the field to Santorum and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, with Santorum leading,” Viguerie said in a statement. “On the third and final ballot, a number of Gingrich supporters, in a principled effort to achieve unity, switched their support to Santorum. This resulted in a strong 75 percent consensus of the group in support of Senator Santorum’s candidacy.”
“The strong support shown for Santorum, whom I have concluded is the most electable conservative seeking the Republican nomination for President, is a positive outcome,” Viguerie said.
According to Viguerie, Santorum’s “principled stands” on social issues and “judgment” were the most important factors in the group’s decision to back Santorum.
The liberal magazine The Nation has called Viguerie “one of the creators of the conservative movement.” He is also considered the father of direct-mail outreach in political campaigns.