Rick Santorum made an appearance at the Pavilion at Falls River Square in Cuyahoga Falls Monday evening, making one last effort to rally support before Super Tuesday voters head to the polls.

“This is a great opportunity for Ohio to really send a message,” Congressman Mike DeWine said.

DeWine called Santorum, former Pennsylvania senator and GOP candidate, a true conservative.

“He is a fighter,” DeWine said. “He started at 2 percent in the polls … He’s here today because he’s a fighter.”

During his speech, Santorum referred to himself as a conviction conservative, saying he had a plan “to give everybody the opportunity in America to rise in society and fulfill their dreams because that’s what America is about.”

The race between Santorum and fellow GOP candidate Mitt Romney is going to come down to “who wants it the most,” Santorum said.

Santorum repeated many key themes he has expressed throughout his campaign: reducing the size of government and getting rid of Barack Obama.

“Almost 50 percent of the American people receive some government benefit,” Santorum said. “In President Obama’s eyes, that’s success. In my eyes, that is government that is not focused on the right things.”

Santorum acknowledged that college grads sometimes have a hard time finding jobs in the current economy.

“Government should be creating a marketplace where there are jobs for college graduates,” Santorum said. “We should have the opportunity for everybody who wants to go to college to go to college, but we have to understand that not everybody wants to or is directing their life in that direction.”

This comes after Santorum’s remarks at the Americans for Prosperity Forum in Michigan, calling Obama “a snob” for saying everyone in America should go to college.

While Santorum said he wanted everyone to have a chance at higher education, he made no mention of how he would facilitate this or how he would help current college students with the rising price of tuition, fees and other associated costs.

Instead, he redirected the conversation back to jobs.

“We have to have jobs for everybody, no matter what the skill level,” Santorum said.

Contact Britni Williams at [email protected].