The Los Angeles Times reports:
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum's brand of conservative Catholicism is not only helping rally a key part of the Republican base, but has proved an asset in drawing deep-pocketed Christian donors to an independent campaign supporting his presidential bid.
The majority of the money raised last year by the Red White and Blue Fund — a "super PAC" that has helped float his shoestring candidacy — came from evangelical Christians and conservative Catholics, according to an examination of campaign finance records.
The group says it is now enjoying a surge in donations following Santorum's surprise wins Tuesday in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado. And Santorum's official campaign has brought in more than $1 million per day since the victories, according to spokesman Hogan Gidley.
The most prominent of the group's donors, Foster Friess, a retired mutual fund executive based in Wyoming, gave $330,000 to the super PAC in 2011 — half of its total proceeds. He contributed at least $250,000 more in the last month, saying Santorum is the best candidate of the field because he has a "servant's heart."...
The super PAC also received $250,000 from Dr. John Templeton Jr., a surgeon and born-again Christian who runs the John Templeton Foundation, which his late father established to promote the study of the intersection of science, philosophy and theology.
And the group got $20,000 from Frank Hanna III, a Georgia-based investor whose foundation, the Solidarity Assn., has supported Catholic philanthropic causes, including the establishment of three new Catholic schools.
