The Midday Brief: Jan. 2, 2012

Your afternoon reading:

• "Rick Santorum, at his event at a Boone Pizza Ranch, just accused Ron Paul supporters of being behind negative robocalls suggesting the former Senator is anti-Second Amendment. 'Someone is out making robocalls suggesting I am anti-Second Amendment,' said Santorum, adding that voters should tell: 'Whoever is (doing that), Ron Paul (to stop).'" — Santorum accuses Ron Paul backers of negative robocalls, Politico
  

• "Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and several members of the Texas Legislature joined Gov. Rick Perry on the presidential campaign trail today, the last day before the Iowa caucuses.  Republican state Reps. Brandon Creighton, Charles 'Doc' Anderson, Larry Phillips and Sid Miller, plus Sen. Craig Estes, joined Perry at the day’s first campaign stop in Sioux City." — Flanked by Texas officials, Perry calls presidential race a marathon, Austin American-Statesman

• "Rick Perry kicked off his last full day of campaigning in Iowa today with a round of TV interviews that made one thing clear: he has his sights firmly trained on Rick Santorum in a last-minute attempt to woo Iowa evangelicals." — Perry: Santorum can't beat Obama, CBS News

• "Rick Perry’s schedule says he’s skipping the state of New Hampshire to focus on the South Carolina primary, but the candidate and his wife both say otherwise. The Texas governor plans to travel directly from Iowa to South Carolina after Tuesday’s caucuses. In an interview with POLITICO’s Mike Allen, Perry said that doesn’t mean he’s ignoring New Hampshire." — Perry camp sends mixed N.H. signals, Politico

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "So much for the terrible twos. In our second full year in operation, the traffic to our site — measured by unique visitors, visits and page views — was pretty terrific." — T-Squared: The 2011 Stats