Rick Santorum defied the predictions of most veteran political observers when he won Iowa’s leadoff caucuses in January.

But even having achieved that victory, few thought he would end up being former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s main obstacle to the Republican presidential nomination.

That he accomplished that feat, before bowing out of the nomination race on Tuesday, is testimony to the strength of his message to the American people. Meanwhile, his strong showing solidified him as a strong voice in his party, not only for this year’s election, but for the longer term, no matter the result of the Nov. 6 presidential balloting.

People of Butler County, where Santorum spent his early years, and people across the land have reason to be proud of the spirit and fair play Santorum demonstrated during campaign debates and on the campaign circuit. He concentrated on the issues and avoided character attacks. His ads generally were positive.

Most importantly, he gave Americans a strong choice on a Republican candidate roster that otherwise wasn’t the best that the GOP ever has fielded.

While veteran campaign observers opined that a Santorum nomination would be President Barack Obama’s guarantee of re-election, that viewpoint ignored Santorum’s record as a fighter. When Santorum first ran for Congress, he achieved the unexpected by capturing the U.S. House seat despite the district’s Democratic voter majority.

In suspending his presidential campaign, he reflected on the pessimism with which his campaign was met. He referred to his campaign “as improbable as any race that you will ever see for president.”

Amid that, America lived up to its reputation as a land of opportunity. As Santorum noted on Tuesday, his campaign literally began in his kitchen with family members and a few friends, then “graduated” to the rental of a pickup truck to begin his thousands-of-miles campaign journey.

From the early polls, which showed his support at 2 percent, Santorum’s message, coupled with Americans’ getting to know him, thrust him forward to the point that he became the last serious challenger to the Romney nomination.

Not bad for someone who was pictured in a Butler High School yearbook under the sports heading “Boy’s Managers & Trainers.”

“Against all odds, we won 11 states, millions of voters, millions of votes,” Santorum said Tuesday.

In an e-mail message received by the Butler Eagle from Santorum Tuesday afternoon, he said, “We have been outspent in most states 5-1 or even 10-1. And we still won, or we’ve come incredibly close. Iowa and the three-state sweep. An over 20-point win in Louisiana. Only a few votes short of victory in Michigan and Ohio. We have made history. There has been no other presidential comeback race like ours.”

The more than 160,000 contributors to his campaign were true believers in what he had to offer. In the end, those contributors helped ensure that his opinions and message will be important to his party’s future.

Despite pulling out of the race, Santorum made it clear that he intended to maintain a voice in the campaign to come, and he no doubt will be an important GOP asset at the party’s national convention in Tampa, Fla., in August.

He pledged to do everything in his power to bring about a change in the White House. The weeks ahead will provide an indication of his strategy in moving ahead with that objective.

For Butler County, the GOP nomination contest has provided a unique experience with one of its own as a top contender. But the American people in general also benefited from Santorum’s presence in the campaign.

The nation hasn’t heard the last from Rick Santorum.