Rick Santorum said a second-place finish in New Hampshire would be "beyond our dreams."
Santorum, who finished a close second to Mitt Romney in the Iowa caucuses, is trailing badly in New Hampshire and has been working hard to set expectations lower ahead of Tuesday's primary.
On Tuesday, he suggested finishing second would far surpass his expectations for the state.
"Oh my gosh, just the mention of that would be beyond our dreams, to be very honest with you we're hopeful to finish somewhere in the three, four, five" places, Santorum said on "Fox and Friends" Tuesday.
"I'm not saying we won't do a little better than the pack, but it would be a shocker if we did," he said.
Polls suggest Santorum is trailing not only Romney, but also Jon Huntsman and Texas Rep. Ron Paul. Former Speaker Newt Gingrich also could poll jump ahead of Santorum, though polls show the two have close to the same level of support in the state.
Santorum had 11 percent in the final American Research Group poll taken before primary voters head to the polls, beating out Gingrich and Rick Perry.
The former Pennsylvania senator said he would consider it a success to finish in middle of the pack in the Granite State. He touted his rise in the polls, moving up from the bottom of the Republican field.
"That would show that we've got the momentum and that our grassroots effort is still on the rise," he said.
He said he plans to continue to capitalize on his Iowa success and predicted he would do better in South Carolina, a state where Santorum's social conservative message has more traction with the electorate.
Santorum told Fox News that regardless of his showing in the Granite State, he plans to continue his campaign into South Carolina, the next state to hold its Republican primary.
"Absolutely," he added.
