Santorum Iowa Campaign Stop Fails to Bring in Five Voters

In the worst showing for a public event since the inaugural Ex-Gay Pride event, which drew less than ten participants, Rick Santorum's campaign stop in Hamlin, Iowa Monday initially only brought in one interested voter, The Des Moines Register reports.

For a while it looked like Peggy Toft, the chair of the county's Republican Party, would be the only person in attendance at Santorum's stop in Hamlin Monday. So, the 2016 presidential hopeful suggested the two of them have lunch. Somewhere between the tenderloin and onion rings, three more voters showed up.

Predictably, the subject of same-sex marriage came up when one of the voters, a minister from nearby Exira, asked the former Senator about his thoughts on the topic. Santorum answered by calling marriage equality a threat not just to the family but to religious liberty.

"This is where the left is saying, 'Here is what your belief system should be, and anyone who does not toe the line, you're a hater, you're a bigot, you're intolerant and you will not be tolerated,'" Santorum said.

It remains unclear as to who picked up the check for lunch.

According to Politico, earlier in the day, Santorum drew a larger crowd of about ten in nearby Panora Iowa.

Santorum's low draw among Iowans is in stark contrast to the 2012 election where he came in first in the midwest state's caucus. Back then, the conservative senator had the backing of the ' target='_blank'>Duggar family, who have decided to endorse former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee this go around.