For Santorum, Perry Endorsement of Gingrich Dulls Iowa News PLEASANT, S.C. - Rick Santorum received the good news Thursday that he ended up with the most votes for the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses, but he had little time to savor it. No sooner were the certified results announced - he edged Mitt Romney by 34 votes - than even bigger political news broke: of the race and endorsing Newt Gingrich. And rather quickly, the Perry-Gingrich news overshadowed Mr. Santorum's gold star from Iowa. Mr. Santorum gets huge bragging rights from Iowa, of course, and it underscores his credentials as a candidate who can win. But his Iowa showing may have more significance as a chink in Mr. Romney's armor than as a game-changer for Mr. Santorum. In the bigger picture, Mr. Perry throwing his support to Mr. Gingrich could have far more significance for Mr. Santorum than his own Iowa performance, and not in a good way. Mr. Santorum and Mr. Gingrich have been locked in a struggle for the conservative vote in Saturday's South Carolina primary, and both of them immediately sought Mr. Perry's backing Thursday morning as soon as they heard that he was dropping out. Mr. Perry may not influence many voters; he was trailing in the polls, with support in the low single digits. But his endorsement gives Mr. Gingrich an important, faith-based vote of confidence at a crucial moment - just hours before ABC News is to broadcast an interview with Mr. Gingrich's second wife that raises questions about his character. Mr. Perry said Mr. Gingrich is not perfect, but a man of faith and the true conservative in the race. Mr. Santorum, who is preparing to hold a news conference here Thursday afternoon, has to be smarting from losing Mr. Perry's nod. He had won the endorsement of 75 percent of a group of religious leaders who met last weekend in Texas to coalesce around one conservative candidate. The power of those leaders may still be felt on Saturday if they can get out the vote for Mr. Santorum, but Mr. Perry's endorsement of Mr. Gingrich makes a mockery of the idea that anyone had "coalesced" around a single candidate and their influence seems to have dissipated. The picture caption in a previous version of this post misidentified Rick Santorum as Rick Perry.