Rick Santorum is adjusting his strategy to counter concerns he has outdated views about the role of women in America. His focus on social issues such as birth control and abortion may have hurt him in recent contests with Mitt Romney,
The Washington Post reported.
Exit polls showed that former Massachusetts Gov. Romney outperformed Santorum with women in Arizona by a large margin and in Michigan, where women who broke for Romney by five points provided the margin of victory, the Post reported.
In recent days, Santorum has made direct appeals to women, noting not just his wife’s career before becoming a mother but that of his own mother, who worked when Santorum was a child. Aides have also noted that the former Pennsylvania senator has women in senior positions in the campaign, the Post reported.
“There’s a lot that’s written about Rick that he feels is not really who he is,” John Brabender, a top adviser, told the Post. “Instead of letting perceptions become the reality based upon what we would consider images that are pushed by his opponents or segments of the news media that might be less favorable, he wants to provide a fuller picture of the reality.”
However, a shift in his image does carry risks for Santorum as it might alienate home-schoolers, evangelical Christians and “values voters” who have fueled his campaign, the Post reported.
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