Presidential candidate Rick Santorum was in Columbus on Saturday to make a major push in his bid for the republican nomination.
The former senator from Pennsylvania made several stops in central Ohio focusing on Tea Party voters and religious groups, 10TV's Ashleigh Barry reported.
At a Hilliard Tea Party rally at the Embassy Suites in East Columbus, Santorum pushed his ideas for entitlement reform and the national deficit.
Santorum also honed in on his GOP rival Mitt Romney, calling the former Massachusetts governor a "hypocrite" on earmarks.
Supporters of another republican candidate, Ron Paul, stood outside of the event to challenge Santorum's decisions while serving in Congress.
"He talked a lot about cutting Social Security and Medicare today but when he was in Congress he voted for the largest entitlement increase in Medicare," said Brian Doran, Ohio for Ron Paul.
Those backing Santorum were ready to move on from past decisions.
"Nobody's perfect, he's made some mistakes like all the candidates have," said Dianna Chaney, a Santorum supporter. "But he admits that he's truthful and a lot of the other (candidates) are not."
The former senator also attended a luncheon with the Ohio Christian Alliance, hoping to mobilize voters for Ohio's primary.
Santorum sat down for an exclusive interview with ONN's Jim Heath about the campaign and the importance of stumping in Ohio.
"Obviously you have a big delegate haul here in Ohio. And so it's a good weathervane as to where republicans are going across the country and that's why we're planting our flag and do well here," said Santorum.
The candidate said the endorsement of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine gives him a lot of momentum going forward in the campaign.
"I think the key for us is to show that this is really a two-person race right now," said Santorum.
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