A conservative Christian group that has played host to a number of the GOP presidential candidates will remain neutral, but The Family Leader’s two leaders have personally endorsed Rick Santorum.

“He could be the Huckabee in this race,” Vander Plaats said this morning during a news conference.

Huckabee won the 2008 Iowa Caucuses; Vander Plaats endorsed Huckabee in 2007. Vander Plaats and Chuck Hurley, president of The Iowa Family Policy Center, which is part of The Family Leader, are asking the other conservative candidates in the race to search their hearts and consider dropping out.

“It just makes a lot of sense to me because you need a team to run a country and so this isn’t just about one person,” Hurley told reporters. “This isn’t just about Rick Santorum.”

Hurley said he didn’t want to diminish the aims of candidates who believe they are running a “God-ordained” race for the Republican nomination.

“Why can’t the top three or so pro-family candidates come together and figure out who has the talents for president, who has the talents for other roles?” Hurley said. “…And those people could quickly…vaunt into first place and win the Caucuses and win the nomination.”

Hurley acknowledges the endorsement is driving a wedge among Iowa’s social conservatives, and during the news conference Hurley even mentioned an “overheated, former friend” who has denounced the decision Hurley and Vander Plaats made.

“I do regret that one erstwhile friend and culture warrior has threatened to, ‘Burn Bob’s body, drag it through the streets and hang it from a bridge,’ if Bob doesn’t endorse who that person wants him to endorse,” Hurley said. “Unfortunately, this individual claims to follow the ‘good book’ which says things like, ‘Let all anger, bitterness and malice be put away from you.'”

Hurley refused, when asked by a reporter, to name the person he quoted — but other sources indicate the statement was made by State Senator Kent Sorenson, the Iowa chairman for Michele Bachman’s campaign. 

The Family Leader’s board of directors wrestled for weeks over whom to choose, and wound up remaining neutral in the race.  Most of the candidates had appeared at town hall meetings in Pella, Sioux Center, and Iowa City which were organized by The Family Leader and six candidates appeared at The Family Leader’s Thanksgiving Family Forum in Des Moines last month.

The audio of this morning’s news conference is posted here.

Santorum was campaigning in Pella and offered this reaction: “We’re the candidate right now that has the momentum, that has the message that’s resonating to the people of Iowa and I think they’re probably catching that and see this as the campaign that’s going to be the conservative alternative.”

(This story was updated at 12:14 p.m. with additional information.)