DES MOINES, Iowa: Stumping at a high school, Rick Santorum told a group of  seniors to focus on the "long-term problems."

He didn't tweak his stump speech too much for the younger crowd nor did he give a hard pitch, but he told the students at Valley High School  - old enough to caucus for the first time this evening - that it was important to vote and that they needed to be "worried" about more than "short term" problems such as their education and finding a job.

"The long-term problems are the ones that are going to affect you more profoundly," Santorum said. "Hold those candidates to the standard of solving the problems of an exploding federal government and exploding debt that is going to crush your economic future. Make sure they stand up and deal with problems of entitlements, a government that is doing more and more and giving you less freedom."

Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul and two of Mitt Romney's sons also addressed the crowd.

The former Pennsylvania senator told the students to hold their members of Congress and the president "accountable" and to be "involved as citizens."

"Every decision that is going to be made in the next few years, whether Obamacare is repealed or whether it's kept in place, whether taxes are going to grow, or whether this deficit that is crushing the economy and will crush your pocket books in the future is going to be dealt with so you won't have a lower standard of living," Santorum said. Those, he said, are reasons to vote this evening.

Santorum mentioned that being the youngest elected U.S. senator as well as the second youngest Congressman when he was elected are reasons he appreciates younger voters. "I took a special responsibility to go out and meet with young people. I met with every high school group that wanted to meet with me in Washington, D.C.."

This afternoon Santorum addresses the Des Moines Christian Assembly in Urbandale, and this evening he will hold his caucus night event at a hotel in Johnston.