Santorum super PAC likely to fold

DES MOINES, Iowa, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- A super PAC that helped Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum to a second-place finish in the Iowa caucuses likely will fold, the PAC's treasurer said.

Public records indicate the political action committee Leaders for Families Super PAC Inc. spent just under $107,000 to spread the word that two prominent Iowa conservatives -- Charles Hurley and Bob Vander Plaats -- endorsed Santorum, Roll Call reported Wednesday.

In Tuesday's caucuses, Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, lost by eight votes to caucus winner Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor.

Hurley and Vander Plaats led a pair of influential conservative advocacy organizations in Iowa.

"We got the message out pretty well, I think," said Hurley, leader of the Iowa Family Policy Center.

Hurley said, however, that he and Vander Plaats weren't well-known beyond Iowa's borders, so the PAC unlikely will focus on other states.

"It might happen, but I'm not holding my breath," he told Roll Call.

A second pro-Santorum super PAC, the Red, White and Blue Fund, spent slightly less than $326,000 in advertising in the weeks before the caucuses. Roll Call said efforts to reach the PAC's organizer were unsuccessful.