In 2008, with the economy struggling and markets crashing, people needed someone to believe in for president, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum told an Akron crowd Saturday night.This year, he said, the country needs something different.“America doesn’t need a president it can believe in,” Santorum told a record crowd of more than 1,350 people at the Summit County Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner. “We’ve always succeeded when we have a president who believes in them.”He earned hearty applause, cheers and a standing ovation for this statement.“That is what this election is all about,” he said. “Who do you believe in?”The county party sold out the dinner Monday and started a waiting list that gathered more than 120 names of those hoping to attend the $50-a-plate event at Quaker Station in downtown Akron.The high level of interest was the latest coup for Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania who has been gaining momentum in the hotly contested battle for the GOP presidential nomination. He won races last week in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri and was the leader among Ohio’s likely Republican voters in a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday, with 36 percent.Akron was Santorum’s last stop in a two-day visit to Ohio that took him from the southern part of the state through Columbus and then to Northeast Ohio. While in Columbus, he announced the endorsement of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, a former delegate for Mitt Romney, one of Santorum’s main competitors.DeWine was among the statewide officeholders who attended the Akron dinner. Others included Auditor Dave Yost, Treasurer Josh Mandel, Secretary of State Jon Husted, Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, who is from Green in Summit County, and House Speaker Bill Batchelder, R-Medina.“It’s time for us to quit looking at someone whose method of campaigning is negative,” Batchelder said, referring to Romney. “We need to feel the grass roots running under our feet.”Batchelder said Santorum stands “on principle wherever he goes.”In an interview before the event, Santorum called Ohio a “must win” for Republicans and a huge state for his campaign. He downplayed polls that show him and his competitors all losing in a head-to-head with President Barack Obama. He said the polls “don’t mean anything” six months out.Well-wishers and people wanting Santorum to sign their programs frequently interrupted him Saturday. One woman told him, “We’ve got to get a godly person back into the White House.”Asked his thoughts on hydraulic fracturing — or fracking — for natural gas, Santorum said the process involves safe technology — as long as it’s done responsibly. He said businesses need to be held accountable, but he thinks the environmental movement is using fracking as a “cash cow to raise money.”“They want to slow down development of fossil fuels, which they hate,” he said. “Fracking is essential for us to become more self-sufficient.”A hodgepodge of protesters demonstrated outside Quaker Station, including the Progressive Democrats of America, the Akron Education Association and Planned Parenthood. The most vocal were a group of gay and lesbian rights advocates, who waved signs with messages like “Gay is OK” and “America is not a Theocracy” and chanted, “Equal rights for you and me.”Next to them, a group of Ron Paul supporters held campaign signs and passed out literature. Craig Thompson, who is heading the local Paul effort, said the group wanted “to show support in a peaceful way. Goodwill to Republicans.”Inside the crowded hall, where some watched from a side room on televisions and the University of Akron brass band played, some were supporters of Santorum, while others favored his competitors or hadn’t made up their minds.Robert Fott of Fairlawn said Santorum is the “true conservative” among the GOP presidential candidates. He thinks former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., has “too much baggage” and Romney, R-Mass., is “Obama-light.”Dave Deis of Wadsworth likes Gingrich but came to learn more about Santorum.“I’m interested in finding out who he is and what he’s all about,” he said.Lliana Mobley of Norton didn’t need any convincing. She said Santorum is not as “wishy-washy” as the other candidates.“He is who he is,” she said.Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com.