Rep. Steve King to join Santorum for Iowa pheasant hunt

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), a potential kingmaker among conservatives, will join former presidential hopeful Rick Santorum at a pheasant hunt in Iowa on Monday.

According to a source with knowledge of the Santorum campaign, King will join the former Pennsylvania senator and other prominent conservatives at the hunt in Adel, Iowa, on Monday. It’s not clear though whether King is just making an appearance with the candidate or plans to indicate any kind of support, much less an endorsement. 

King is a high-profile Republican in the Hawkeye State — an endorsement by him would be a big coup for Santorum or any Republican presidential campaign.

But King has held his cards close to his chest on endorsing a presidential candidate for 2012. A week ago King indicated that he might not endorse a presidential candidate before the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses. 

“I will not make a decision unless I come to a conviction, and that’s what it needs to be,” King said. “It can’t just be going shopping and picking an attractive package off the shelf. It’s got to be a conviction.”

That statement was something of a shift from earlier ones he made. Previously, King said he would likely endorse in September or October. 

Santorum has been campaigning hard in Iowa and hopes to rally the Hawkeye State’s Christian conservative base to his side. He recently won the endorsement of the state’s sitting Republican secretary of State, Matt Schultz, who will also likely be at the pheasant hunt.