Republican spotlight on Santorum

Rick Santorum's new-found profile has not gone unnoticed by his rivals

A late surge in the polls and a negative ad from one of his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination has put Rick Santorum under the spotlight ahead of voting in the first primaries next week.

A new survey of likely voters published yesterday showed that Mr Santorum was running third behind Mitt Romney and Ron Paul in the Republican race in Iowa, confirming a poll which first recorded his surge to the top end of the field at the start of the week.

Mr Santorum's new-found profile has not gone unnoticed by his rivals, with the Texas Governor Rick Perry targeting the former Pennsylvania senator with a radio ad accusing him of backing costly spending projects during his time as a lawmaker in Washington.