COLUMBIA, South Carolina (Reuters) – Influential evangelical Christian leaders endorsed Rick Santorum on Saturday for the Republican U.S. presidential nomination, in an attempt to strengthen him as the more conservative alternative to front-runner Mitt Romney.

At a weekend meeting at a ranch outside Houston, the group of 150 conservatives who had joined forces agreed on the third ballot to support the former Pennsylvania senator. Former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich came in second.

They had not been expected to reach agreement on one candidate since evangelical support has been splintered among Santorum, Gingrich and Texas Governor Rick Perry.

“There is clearly a united group here that is committed to see … a true conservative elected to the White House,” said Tony Perkins, leader of the Family Research Council and spokesman for the group.

The endorsement came one week before South Carolina votes on January 21 in the Republican presidential primary. The Republicans are selecting a candidate to challenge President Barack Obama in the November election.

“It will have an impact in South Carolina and in shifting support to the consensus candidate which is Rick Santorum,” Perkins said.

Santorum may need the help. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Saturday showed Romney with a huge lead in the state, with 37 percent of the vote. Santorum and libertarian Ron Paul were tied for second at 16 percent.

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (Reuters) – Influential evangelical Christian leaders on Saturday endorsed Rick Santorum for the Republican U.S. presidential nomination, in an attempt to strengthen him as the more conservative alternative to front-runner Mitt Romney.

At a weekend meeting at a ranch outside Houston, Texas, the group of 150 conservatives agreed on the third ballot to support the former Pennsylvania senator.

They had not been expected to reach agreement on one candidate since evangelical support was splintered among Santorum, former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Governor Rick Perry.

“What I did not think was possible appears to be possible,” said Tony Perkins, leader of the Family Research Council and spokesman for the group.

Perkins described a “vigorous and passionate” discussion about who would make the best president and said eventually people made concessions to their views in order to coalesce around one candidate.

Conservatives are desperate to find a viable alternative to Romney, who won the first two nomination contests in Iowa and New Hampshire and now leads the polls in South Carolina, which holds its Republican primary on January 21.

In the 2008 election, about 60 percent of the voters in South Carolina described themselves as evangelical Christians. Santorum is a Catholic and father of seven who strongly opposes abortion and gay rights.

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (Reuters) – Frances Woodard is so sick of being bombarded by political commercials, especially the negative ads, that she thinks she will skip voting in South Carolina’s upcoming U.S. presidential primary.

“It’s just too much,” said Woodard, who sees political ads for all the different Republican presidential hopefuls non-stop when she is home from work, and flipping the TV channel does not offer an escape. “It’s the same thing over and over again.”

“It’s just disgusting. Some of them just don’t sound so nice,” Woodard said as she pushed a grocery cart in a Columbia store. “They should try to talk more about what they’re trying to do than bring the other guy down. They are all negative men.”

Woodard is not alone. As candidates and groups supporting them pour millions of dollars in advertising into South Carolina ahead of its January 21 primary, many are turned off. Republicans are selecting a candidate to challenge President Barack Obama in November’s election.

People complain that television is not fun any more, with some networks playing up to a dozen political ads in one hour. Many of them are negative and some air more than once.

People also receive call after call on the phone in the afternoon and evening. Most are “robo-calls” with a candidate’s recorded voice speaking without a greeting into the phone, and pollsters also call regularly.

Phil Howell, a retired member of the military sitting in an electric scooter, just shook his head when he was asked about political advertisements.

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (Reuters) – Frances Woodard is so sick of being bombarded by political commercials, especially the negative ads, that she thinks she will skip voting in South Carolina’s upcoming presidential primary.

“It’s just too much,” said Woodard, who sees political ads for all the different Republican presidential hopefuls non-stop when she is home from work, and flipping the TV channel does not offer an escape. “It’s the same thing over and over again.”

“It’s just disgusting. Some of them just don’t sound so nice,” Woodard said as she pushed a grocery cart in a Columbia store. “They should try to talk more about what they’re trying to do than bring the other guy down. They are all negative men.”

Woodard is not alone. As candidates and groups supporting them pour millions of dollars in advertising into South Carolina ahead of its January 21 primary, many are turned off. Republicans are selecting a candidate to challenge President Barack Obama in November’s election.

People complain that television is not fun any more, with some networks playing up to a dozen political ads in one hour. Many of them are negative and some air more than once.

People also receive call after call on the phone in the afternoon and evening. Most are “robo-calls” with a candidate’s recorded voice speaking without a greeting into the phone, and pollsters also call regularly.

Phil Howell, a retired member of the military sitting in an electric scooter, just shook his head when he was asked about political advertisements.

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (Reuters) – The Republican Party is faced with a dilemma: how to handle a popular, unorthodox presidential candidate who wants to do away with the Federal Reserve and end U.S. military presence overseas.

Ron Paul’s libertarian philosophy is resonating with voters and senior Republicans say the party needs to show respect for him and grant some concessions to make sure he does not run as a third party candidate, and take his supporters along with him.

With a tough battle ahead to prevent Democratic President Barack Obama’s re-election in November, Republican politicians and strategists say Texas Congressman Paul – who has spouted his anti-establishment views for decades without much success – must now be listened to, at least in part.

“In this election you can’t afford to lose any voters,” said Tony Fratto, a Republican consultant and former deputy spokesman for President George W. Bush.

Paul pulled in about a quarter of the vote in the New Hampshire Republican primary Tuesday after winning about 21 percent of the vote in Iowa.

While this was not enough to win, it proved the strength of his loyal following, much of it made up of young people.

“It’s really important for whomever the Republican nominee is … to treat the Ron Paul constituency with respect, to not be dismissive, to appreciate their energy and enthusiasm,” said Fratto.