Republicans set sights on Obama’s home state

Republican White House hopefuls have set their sights on President Barack Obama’s home state of Illinois in the hope of shaking up the plodding race to become their party’s standard-bearer.

Polls showed former senator Rick Santorum within striking range of frontrunner Mitt Romney, who has a commanding lead in all-important delegates but has been weakened by his failure to clinch the nomination.

The fierce Republican campaign was being waged as Obama was home in Illinois raising funds and waging his own offensive against the candidates.

Santorum, a devout Catholic and opponent of abortion and gay marriage, is seen as the most conservative Republican candidate vying to take on Democrat Obama on Nov 6, but his ability to win over centrist and independent voters is in doubt.

A Santorum victory on Tuesday in the mid-western, industrialised state could consequently prove a far more significant upset than his recent wins in the deep south states of Alabama and Mississippi, where evangelical voters carry more weight.

It would also give Santorum important momentum going into the southern state of Louisiana’s primary on Mar 24 and contests in Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington DC on Apr 3.

The former Pennsylvania senator is making an aggressive push in Illinois, adding many campaign stops and launching ads attacking Romney for raising taxes and supporting the Wall Street bailout and government control of healthcare.

“It’s time conservatives take a stand,” Santorum said in a fundraising note to supporters. “I am convinced that whoever can activate grassroots activists will not only win the nomination but have the honour of defeating Barack Obama,” Santorum said.

Romney responded by moving up plans to campaign in Illinois — greeting voters at a pancake house before flying to Puerto Rico ahead of caucuses there tomorrow — and pouring millions of dollars into ads for the local airwaves.

His campaign is blasting Santorum as a Washington insider and “economic lightweight” without the ability to defeat Obama or handle the challenges of the presidency.