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Former
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
Rick Santorum Richard John Santorum Sr. ( ; born May 10, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, author, and political commentator who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1995 to 2007. He was the Senate's Chairman of the United Sta ...
of
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
began a campaign for the 2012 Republican Party nomination for president of the United States in April 2011. He had been preparing for a run since shortly after the 2008 presidential election. Santorum lagged in the polls for all of 2011 until he surged in the week before the Iowa caucuses, propelling him to a narrow victory over
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
in the first contest of the presidential primaries. Santorum's presidential hopes received another boost when he surprisingly swept all three votes held on February 7, 2012, in Minnesota, Missouri, and Colorado. On April 10, 2012, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Santorum announced the suspension of his campaign.


Background and campaign announcement

Santorum stopped short of a full-fledged candidacy before the beginning of 2011. Prior to that, he had indicated that he was merely considering running for president. Santorum filed for an
exploratory committee In the election politics of the United States, an exploratory committee is an organization established to help determine whether a potential candidate should run for an elected office. They are most often cited in reference to candidates for pre ...
with
Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent agency of the United States government that enforces U.S. campaign finance laws and oversees U.S. federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign ...
, and announced the organization on the
Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...
program '' On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren'' on April 13, 2011. He formally announced his run for the Republican presidential nomination on ABC's ''Good Morning America'' on Monday, June 6, 2011.


Campaign developments

In an August 2011 interview with ''
The Des Moines Register ''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa, United States. History Early period The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cab ...
's'' editorial board, Santorum said "I'm the only person in this race by measuring the
Gallup Gallup may refer to: * Gallup, Inc., a firm founded by George Gallup, well known for its opinion poll * Gallup (surname), a surname *Gallup, New Mexico, a city in New Mexico, United States ** Gallup station, an Amtrak train in downtown Gallup, New ...
poll from March to July, everybody else who's even in the race or a prospective in the race their name identification increase except me. And so you just sort of wonder why is the national media not talking about me when they're talking about people like Jon Huntsman who are way below me in the national polls yet he gets press every single day. Nobody seems to want to pay any attention to me." Santorum suffered from poor fund-raising and weak ground operations, and the viability of his campaign was in doubt during the Ames Poll. He finished fourth in the Iowa Straw Poll on August 13, 2011, with 9.8% of the vote. The finish was seen as a surprising and successful one; he finished just behind
Tim Pawlenty Timothy James Pawlenty ( ; born November 27, 1960) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served from 2003 to 2011 as the 39th governor of Minnesota. A member of the Republican Party, Pawlenty served in the Minnesota House ...
, who had significantly more money. Santorum focused on an off-the-beaten-path strategy, going to dozens of small towns generally ignored by the other candidates. Although he was considered a "joke" candidate and panned as unelectable in some quarters, his solid consistency among fellow
anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...
Catholics kept him in the race. Santorum was one of the non-Mormon candidates to directly take on the accusations of Mormonism being a cult. Santorum has openly promoted
natalist Natalism (also called pronatalism or the pro-birth position) is a policy paradigm or personal value that promotes the reproduction of human life as an important objective of humanity and therefore advocates a high birthrate. Cf.: According to ...
government policies as part of his campaign platform.


Comments about homosexuality

During the Fox News/Google-sponsored debate, which took place in Orlando, Florida on September 22, 2011, a gay soldier deployed in Iraq asked the candidates if they would take measures to "circumvent" the repeal of "
Don't Ask, Don't Tell "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on Sexual orientation in the United States military, military service of homosexual people. Instituted during the Presidency of Bill Clinton, Clinton administration, the pol ...
", if elected president. Santorum, who answered the question, called the repeal of DADT "social experimentation" – and "tragic". "I would say any type of sexual activity has absolutely no place in the military," Santorum responded. "And the fact that they're making a point to include it as a provision within the military that we are going to recognize a group of people and give them a special privilege to – and removing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' I think tries to inject social policy into the military. And the military's job is to do one thing, and that is to defend our country." He added: "What we're doing is playing social experimentation with our military right now. And that's tragic." While campaigning in New Hampshire, Santorum engaged college students who asked about his position on gay marriage, suggesting that allowing gay marriage would lead to the legalization of polygamy and other forms of marriage. The back-and-forth resulted in him being booed at the conclusion of the event. At another event, Santorum suggested that children would be better off having a father in prison than being raised by lesbian parents.


Focus on Iowa

Santorum focused much of his efforts on the early caucus state of
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
. He established a solid ground operation in Iowa and visited the state the most of any of the candidates, having visited all 99 counties in the state at least once. Santorum's candidacy was compared to that of
Mike Huckabee Michael Dale Huckabee (, born August 24, 1955) is an American diplomat, political commentator, Baptist minister, and politician serving as the 29th United States Ambassador to Israel, United States ambassador to Israel since 2025. A member of ...
, who surprisingly won Iowa despite similarly poor performance in the polls. Several Republican strategists in Iowa described Santorum as a "natural fit" for 2008 Huckabee supporters in Iowa. ''
The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American Conservatism, conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on Politics of the United States, national politics. Its broadsheet daily edit ...
'' reported in November 2011 that conservatives had gone on a "carousel" of supporting different candidates against
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
, from
Michele Bachmann Michele Marie Bachmann (; née Amble; born April 6, 1956) is an American politician who was the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2007 until 2015. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican P ...
to
Rick Perry James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019 in the first administration of Donald Trump. He previously served as the 47th governor of Texas fr ...
to
Herman Cain Herman Cain (December 13, 1945July 30, 2020) was an American businessman and Tea Party movement activist in the Republican Party. Cain graduated from Morehouse College with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. He then earned a master's degree ...
to
Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...
. As such, Santorum would be next on the "carousel". In December 2011, when Gingrich achieved frontrunner status in the race, Santorum became increasingly critical of him and his speakership. Santorum said Gingrich's Contract with America was not practical and aside from
welfare reform Welfare reforms are changes in the operation of a given welfare system aimed at improving the efficiency, equity, and administration of government assistance programs. Reform programs may have a various aims; sometimes the focus is on reducing th ...
, it fell short of its goals. Santorum said Gingrich's Contract with America was overrated and took too much credit from the Gang of Six, of which he was a part, which exposed congressional banking corruption in 1994. Santorum also gained the confidence of several evangelical religious leaders and Sarah Palin for his "ideological consistency". In December 2011, Santorum's poll numbers in Iowa remained low, but he attracted more attention as a dark horse candidate, and said Iowans were beginning to respond to his message. He described his campaign by saying, "I'm sort of the guy at the dance, when the girls walk in they sort of walk by, and they take a few turns at the dance hall with the guys that are a little better looking, a little flashier, a little more bling. But at the end of the evening, old steady Eddie's there. He's the guy you want to bring home to mom and dad." He urged Iowans not to go along with the polls and the pundits, who have pitted the race as being between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, but to lead the national conversation by picking him, an underdog. There were complaints about a statement made in
Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, Woodbury and Plymouth County, Iowa, Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, fo ...
, when Santorum said, "I don't want to make black people's lives better by giving them somebody else's money". Santorum responded saying he did not say the word "black" but rather mumbled "blah".


Significant endorsements

Santorum received endorsements from several major Iowa conservative leaders in the fall of 2011. Prominent social conservatives
Bob Vander Plaats Robert Lee Vander Plaats (born April 12, 1963) is an American politician and political activist. Since 2010, he has been the president and CEO of The Family Leader, a socially conservative organization in Iowa. Active in Republican Party poli ...
and Chuck Hurley, both leaders of the Family Leader social conservative advocacy organization, praised Santorum's conservative record on social issues.
Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Iowa. The county seat of Woodbury County, Sioux City is the primar ...
conservative talk radio host Sam Clovis cited Santorum's beliefs in "a constitutionally limited government, fiscal responsibility, strong national defense and unflagging devotion to life and traditional marriage." Other endorsements included
Iowa Secretary of State The Secretary of State of Iowa is the commissioner of elections of the U.S. state of Iowa. A constitutional officer, the officeholder is elected every four years. The Office of the Secretary of State is divided into four divisions: Elections and ...
Matt Schultz Matt Schultz (born July 23, 1979) is an American Republican politician who served as Iowa Secretary of State. Biography Schultz grew up in West Des Moines, Iowa and graduated from Valley High School, Brigham Young University–Idaho, the Uni ...
, Cornerstone Church pastor and evangelical leader Cary Gordon, and bestselling thriller novelist Brad Thor. In November 2011, conservative commentator
Glenn Beck Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and rad ...
said, "If there is one guy out there that is the next George Washington, the only guy that I could think of is Rick Santorum. I would ask that you would take a look at him."


Late surge in polls

After support for Newt Gingrich faded in Iowa, Santorum received a late surge in polling in the week prior to the caucuses; a
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
poll released December 28, 2011 showed Santorum jumping to third place with 16%, behind only Mitt Romney (25%) and Ron Paul (22%) and ahead of Newt Gingrich, who was first in the previous CNN poll. CNN said, "Most of Santorum's gains have come among likely caucus participants who are born-again or evangelical, and he now tops the list among that crucial voting bloc, with support from 22% of born-agains compared to 18% for Paul, 16% for Romney, and 14% for Gingrich." Mike Huckabee said, "Rick Santorum, I believe, is being greatly underestimated in this race. I believe he will be the surprise candidate, not necessarily to win it, but to be in the top three or four when people don't expect him to be." On December 31, 2011, the ''
Des Moines Register ''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa, United States. History Early period The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cab ...
'' released a poll, conducted December 27–30, also placing Santorum in third place behind Romney and Paul. However, the paper noted, "the four-day results don't reflect just how quickly momentum is shifting in a race that has remained highly fluid for months. If the final two days of polling are considered separately, Santorum rises to second place, with 21 percent, pushing Paul to third, at 18 percent. Romney remains the same, at 24 percent." The ''Registers pollster said, "Momentum's name is Rick Santorum."


Victory in Iowa

The Iowa caucuses were held on January 3, 2012, and the count that evening put Romney in first with just eight more votes than Santorum out of 125,000 cast (Romney received 30,015 votes to Santorum's 30,007). Though he finished in second, Santorum's finish was still seen as a stunning victory, which could give him some momentum going forward in an uphill battle of a race. Santorum's campaign reportedly raised over $1 million in less than 24 hours after his finish in the caucuses, and Santorum immediately surged in national polls, with three showing him competing for third place with Paul. On January 20, 2012, Santorum was declared the official winner of the January 3 Iowa caucuses based on the certified results from 1,766 precincts (results from 8 precincts could not be found). Santorum (29,839 votes, 25%) had defeated Romney (29,805, 25%) by 34 votes.


New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida

He finished fourth in the
New Hampshire primary The New Hampshire presidential primary is the first in a series of nationwide party primary elections and the second party contest, the first being the Iowa caucuses, held in the United States every four years as part of the process of cho ...
on January 10, 2012, ahead of Newt Gingrich. On January 14, 2012, during the run-up to the
South Carolina primary The South Carolina presidential primary is an open primary election which has become one of several key early-state presidential primaries in the process of the Democratic and Republican Parties choosing their respective general election nomi ...
, Santorum won the endorsement of the
Family Research Council The Family Research Council (FRC) is an American evangelical 501(c)(3) non-profit activist group and think-tank with an affiliated lobbying organization. FRC promotes what it considers to be family values. It opposes and lobbies against access ...
, a group of 150 social conservative leaders who held an emergency meeting to determine the best social conservative candidate to coalesce around to beat Romney. Santorum finished third in South Carolina with 17%. Newt Gingrich, the winner of South Carolina, called on Santorum along with Ron Paul to drop out of the race; Santorum rebuffed the idea, noting that he won Iowa and beat Gingrich in New Hampshire, and said, "We're not going anywhere. We are going to be in this race, we are going to stay in this race for the long haul. We are planning for the next states." Santorum campaigned for the Florida primary but left the weekend before its primary to go home and prepare his income tax records to be released to the public. However, his three-year-old daughter Bella, who suffers from a rare genetic condition called
Trisomy 18 Trisomy 18, also known as Edwards syndrome, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of a third copy of all or part of chromosome 18. Many parts of the body are affected. Babies are often born small and have heart defects. Other features in ...
that kills most sufferers before their first birthday, fell ill and came close to death in a bout with
pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
. Santorum left the campaign trail for several days to be with her in the hospital. He said she made a miraculous turnaround. Santorum finished third in Florida's primary with 223,208 votes (13%).


February

On February 5, 2012,
Rasmussen Reports Rasmussen Reports is an American polling company founded in 2003. The company engages in political commentary and the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information. Rasmussen Reports conducts nightly tracking, ...
' daily presidential tracking poll showed Santorum leading President Barack Obama 45%–44% in a potential general election matchup, the first time a Rasmussen poll showed him beating Obama. The Santorum campaign decided against committing substantial resources to the Nevada caucuses, where Santorum took 10% of the vote on February 4 in a 4th-place finish. A focus on the states holding votes on February 7 paid off as the former Pennsylvania Senator won all three. Santorum edged out Romney by 5 points in the Colorado caucuses in a significant upset, beat second-place finisher Ron Paul by 45% to 27% in the Minnesota caucuses, and dominated the Missouri primary, defeating Romney 55%–25% in a contest that did not include Newt Gingrich on the ballot and did not assign any delegates. Two days before the vote
Public Policy Polling Public Policy Polling (PPP) is an American polling firm affiliated with the Democratic Party. Founded in 2001 by businessman Dean Debnam, the firm is based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Debnam died in 2024. Tom Jensen serves as the firm's directo ...
(PPP) had suggested that Santorum would finish second in Colorado, face a close contest with Romney and Gingrich in Minnesota, and win by a smaller margin in Missouri."Romney up in Colorado, close race in Minnesota"
''
Public Policy Polling Public Policy Polling (PPP) is an American polling firm affiliated with the Democratic Party. Founded in 2001 by businessman Dean Debnam, the firm is based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Debnam died in 2024. Tom Jensen serves as the firm's directo ...
'' February 5, 2012
Following his sweep, Santorum enjoyed a surge in national polling, with multiple polls showing Santorum in first or within the margin of error of Romney. Santorum did not do any campaigning for the Maine caucuses, but still took 18% and third place in the results announced February 11. Comments Santorum had made in October 2011 about "the dangers of
contraception Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...
in this country, the whole sexual libertine idea" received renewed attention in February with some observers noting that at a January 9 debate Santorum had indicated that he was not interested in making contraception a campaign issue. AP writers suggest that "his ideas would probably be surprising, even puzzling, to general election voters." On February 17,
Mike DeWine Richard Michael DeWine ( ; born January 5, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 70th List of governors of Ohio, governor of Ohio since 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served a ...
, the current
Attorney General of Ohio The Ohio attorney general is the chief legal officer of the state of Ohio in the United States. The office is filled by general election, held every four years. The Ohio attorney general is Republican Dave Yost. History The office of the att ...
and a former
United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...
, announced that he was retracting his endorsement of Mitt Romney and endorsing Santorum, with whom he had served in the Senate. DeWine was the first Senate colleague of Santorum to endorse his candidacy. On February 18, Santorum said that Obama's agenda was based on "some phony theology. Not a theology based on the Bible. A different theology." A 2008 speech in which Santorum suggested that the " Father of Lies" has been "attacking the great institutions of America" also attracted renewed media attention, along with a statement from the same speech claiming that "
mainline Protestant The mainline Protestants (sometimes also known as oldline Protestants) are a group of Protestantism in the United States, Protestant denominations in the United States and Protestantism in Canada, Canada largely of the Liberal Christianity, theolo ...
ism" "is gone from the world of Christianity as I see it." Although
conservative talk Conservative talk radio is a talk radio format in the United States and other countries devoted to expressing conservative viewpoints of issues, as opposed to progressive talk radio. The definition of conservative talk is generally broad enough ...
host
Rush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative political commentator who was the host of ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nati ...
said on February 21 that Santorum would have to "answer for these" remarks, a columnist for ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
'' called for perspective, arguing that "when the media look only at Mr Santorum's thoughts on family morality they end up with a caricature. He is in fact a more rounded candidate, with some impressive skills." The next contests were in
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
and
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
on February 28, 2012. Leading up to the Michigan primary, Santorum was neck-and-neck with Romney in the polls. Since Michigan is considered Romney's home state since he was born and raised there and his father was a popular governor there, commentators predicted disaster for Romney if he lost to Santorum in the state, which was considered an easy win for Romney prior to Santorum's surge. Santorum and Gingrich briefly considered forming a unity ticket to run against Romney at what both viewed as a critical juncture in the primaries, but they were unable to agree on who would lead the ticket. Both campaigns fought hard, and Romney went on to edge Santorum 41%–38%, awarding the latter 14 delegates. Santorum received 27% in Arizona but no delegates since it was a winner-take-all state.esults> A controversy arose over the delegate allocation in Michigan, where party rules should have given one of the state's two at-large delegates to both Santorum and Romney for a 15–15 delegate tie.Republican discord continues, national GOP to investigate Michigan party leaders?
/ref> However, the
Michigan Republican Party The Michigan Republican Party is the state affiliate of the national Republican Party in Michigan, United States, sometimes referred to as MIGOP. Ronna Romney McDaniel was the chairwoman of the party, having been elected in 2015 by delegates ...
's credentials committee voted to award both at-large delegates to Romney for a 16–14 edge for Romney. Santorum's campaign said the committee, which was composed mostly of Romney supporters, was trying to fix the primary because it didn't like the results of the popular vote. Santorum's campaign asked the Republican National Committee to investigate.


Super Tuesday

Ten states held contests on
Super Tuesday Super Tuesday is the United States presidential primary election day in February or March when the greatest number of U.S. states hold primary elections and caucuses. Approximately one-third of all delegates to the presidential nominatin ...
on March 6, 2012. Santorum won in
North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...
(where he took 40% of the vote),
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
(34%), and
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
(37%). He finished second in
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
,
Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
,
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, and
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...
. He finished third in
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, and did not campaign in
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
, where only Romney and Paul qualified for the ballot.


Ohio

Santorum and Romney campaigned heavily against each other in Ohio, a crucial battleground state for the general election. Santorum slammed Romney for " Romneycare" and made it a focus of his campaign against Romney in the state. Romney barely edged out Santorum in the primary, beating him by just 10,000 votes out of 1.2 million cast (0.8%). Some prominent Republicans had voiced concerns over Santorum's ability to win female voters, given his conservative views on contraception. However, Santorum was just three points behind Romney in the overall female vote in Ohio, and won the married female vote by four points, leading the ''
Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper b ...
'' to say that there was "no real gender gap" between the two frontrunners.Mitt Romney vs. Rick Santorum: 7 lessons from Ohio voters
/ref> Santorum won big among youth voters, winning the 17–29 age cohort by nine points over Romney and crushing Ron Paul, the perennial youth favorite. Santorum also won the 30–44 age cohort by 11 points and the 45–64 age cohort by one point, but lost the over-65 age cohort by 16 points to Romney. Exit polls showed that voters who decided in the last few days prior to the election went for Romney by five points over Santorum, but voters who decided on election day itself went for Santorum by 13 points over Romney.


Rest of March

After winning Kansas on March 10, Santorum swept the Southern primaries held on March 13, 2012, strengthening his campaign as he won
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
by five points and
Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
by a point and a half. He defeated Romney, who tried to take advantage of the divided electorate to rally voters to him; and defeated Gingrich, who focused most of his resources on the South since he is from Georgia, strengthening Santorum's case that the race was down to him and Romney.Santorum Takes 2 Races in South; Romney Is Third
/ref> In his victory speech, Santorum said, "We did it again," to jubilant supporters, calling for conservatives to pull together behind his campaign. "For someone who thinks this race is inevitable, omneyspent a whole lot of money trying to be inevitable," he said. "Who would have ever thought in the age of media that we have in this country today that ordinary folks can defy the odds day in and day out?" Santorum supporters began pushing Gingrich to drop out of the race, saying he was taking votes away from Santorum and thus giving an advantage to Romney. Santorum finished second in
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
on March 20, 2012, with 35% to Romney's 47%.Illinois Results
/ref> Santorum won the largely middle class and rural parts of the state, while Romney won the cities and wealthy areas. Romney pounded the airwaves with attack ads against Santorum, especially in and around Chicago. Romney's 12-point victory led to questions of whether Santorum's campaign was capable of continuing the fight against Romney's campaign, which had far more money and was much better organized. Santorum cruised to victory in
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
on March 24, 2012, taking 49% of the vote, trouncing Romney by 22 points. The victory further showed Santorum's underdog capability, especially in more conservative states. Santorum said his 11th victory sent shockwaves through the political world as he continued to win in the South, Midwest, and West. He told supporters in Louisiana, "You didn't believe what the pundits have said, that this race was over. You didn't get the memo."


End of campaign

Despite big wins in the South in March, after Romney's victory in Illinois the media painted a dim picture about Santorum's road ahead, as Romney's big lead in the delegate count after several early state wins was close to insurmountable. Santorum was also running low on cash, while Romney continued spending millions of dollars per state to edge out victories. The next big contest was in Wisconsin on April 3, 2012. Acknowledging the wide delegate gap between himself and Romney, Santorum said that he would continue fighting and would secure enough delegates to deny Romney the 1,144 delegates needed to clinch the nomination, which would lead to an open convention floor fight. Of a convention contest, Santorum said, "I think it would be a fascinating display of open democracy. And I think it would be an energizing thing for our party to have a candidate emerge who isn't the blessed candidate of the Republican establishment." At a campaign event in Wisconsin on March 26, Santorum angrily told the crowd, "Pick any Republican in the country! He (Romney) is the worst Republican in the country to put up against Barack Obama!". He later proceeded to use profanity against
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
reporter
Jeff Zeleny Jeffrey Dean Zeleny (born June 10, 1973) is an American journalist and the chief national affairs correspondent for CNN. He previously was senior Washington correspondent for ABC News. During his newspaper career, he won a Pulitzer Prize with th ...
, who questioned his remarks about Romney. Santorum finished second in Wisconsin with 37% to Romney's 44%. With campaign money drying up, losses in all 3 contests held on April 3, Romney chipping away at his lead in Pennsylvania polling, and his daughter Bella hospitalized, Santorum announced the suspension of his campaign on April 10, 2012. The ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' wrote, Santorum won around 250 delegates (counts vary between 240 and 270 in various reports and delegate estimates throughout the web). In his first interview after dropping out of the race, Santorum attributed problems his campaign had had in gaining traction with voters to what he characterized as a nonstop media narrative that the race was over, which he said had made fundraising difficult, and to the media's having in his view unfairly portrayed him as "an angry guy." He also said it was "heartwarming" to see the way people he met while campaigning had been encouraged by learning about his daughter Bella's story. After dropping out, Santorum continued raising money to settle his debt, raising half a million dollars from thousands of donors in May 2012. Santorum released his delegates ahead of the
Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...
to vote for Romney. Nine delegates cast their votes for Santorum anyway.


Endorsements

Santorum has received endorsements from: Organizations * National Federation of Republican Assemblies * Latin Builders Association *
Susan B. Anthony List Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (formerly Susan B. Anthony List) is an American 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that seeks to reduce and ultimately end abortion in the US, by supporting United States anti-abortion movement, anti-abortion poli ...
* Arizona Right to Life Current and Former U.S. Congressmen * Representative
Robert Aderholt Robert Brown Aderholt ( ; born July 22, 1965) is an American politician and attorney serving as the U.S. representative for since 1997. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes most of Tuscaloosa County north of the Blac ...
of
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
* Representative Alan Nunnelee of
Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
* Representative
Jo Ann Emerson Jo Ann Emerson (née Hermann; born September 16, 1950) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 1996 to 2013. The district consists of Southeast and South Central Missouri and includes the Bootheel, the Lead Belt and ...
of
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
* Representative
Lou Barletta Louis John Barletta (born January 28, 1956) is an American businessman and politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republica ...
of
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
* Representative Glenn Thompson of
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
* Representative
Tom Marino Thomas Anthony Marino (born August 13, 1952) is an American politician and attorney, who served as a United States House of Representatives, United States Representative from Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2019. He represented the from January 3, 20 ...
of
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
* Former
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
and current state
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
Mike DeWine Richard Michael DeWine ( ; born January 5, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 70th List of governors of Ohio, governor of Ohio since 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served a ...
of
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
* Former Representative, former
Presidential candidate A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group or election to an office, in which case a ...
and 2010 Constitution nominee for Governor of Colorado
Tom Tancredo Thomas Gerard Tancredo (; born December 20, 1945) is an American politician from Colorado, who represented Colorado's 6th congressional district, the state's sixth congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to ...
of
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
* Former Representative, current chairman of the
Colorado State Board of Education The Colorado State Board of Education is a government body in the U.S. state of Colorado tasked with general supervision of public schools. The Constitution of Colorado was amended in 1948 to authorize an elected State Board of Education and the f ...
and 2008 Republican nominee for U.S. Senate from Colorado
Bob Schaffer Robert Warren Schaffer (born July 24, 1962) is an American businessman and a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from the State of Colorado in the 105th Congress and the two succeeding Congresses (January 3, ...
of
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
* Former Representative Todd Tiahrt of
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
State Officials * Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal of
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
* State Treasurer Ron Crane of
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
* Secretary of State
Matt Schultz Matt Schultz (born July 23, 1979) is an American Republican politician who served as Iowa Secretary of State. Biography Schultz grew up in West Des Moines, Iowa and graduated from Valley High School, Brigham Young University–Idaho, the Uni ...
of
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
*
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
Mike DeWine Richard Michael DeWine ( ; born January 5, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 70th List of governors of Ohio, governor of Ohio since 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served a ...
of
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
(Formerly endorsed Romney) * Comptroller of Public Accounts
Susan Combs Susan Combs (born February 26, 1945) is an American politician, having served elected office in Texas and served as the Assistant Secretary of Policy, Management and Budget at the U.S. Department of the Interior as an appointed official under Pre ...
of Texas * Former
Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
Jane Norton of
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
* Florida Rep. Scott Plakon *
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook * Kansas Rep.
Lance Kinzer Lance Kinzer (born April 18, 1970) is an American Politicians of The Wire, politician served as the Kansas House of Representatives, Kansas State Representative for the 30th district from 2013 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party (United Stat ...
* Kansas Rep. Steven Brunk * Kansas Rep.
Peter DeGraaf Peter DeGraaf (born April 11, 1957) is a Republican former member of the Kansas House of Representatives, representing District 82 from 2008 to May 31, 2017. He resigned from the state House on May 31, 2017, due to complications with Parkinson ...
* Kansas Rep. Jim Howell * Kansas Rep. Dennis Hedke * Former Louisiana Rep. Walker Hines of
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
* Mark Gilstrap, former Minnesota state representative *
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
Sen. David Thompson * Minnesota Sen.
David Hann David W. Hann (born April 16, 1952) is an American politician and a former minority leader of the Minnesota Senate. A Republican, he represented District 48, which consisted of the cities of Eden Prairie and Minnetonka, from 2003-2017. He was t ...
* Minnesota Sen.
Paul Gazelka Paul E. Gazelka ( ; born October 1, 1959) is an American politician and small business owner from Minnesota. A Republican, Gazelka was a member of the Minnesota Senate and was previously a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. In the ...
* Minnesota Sen. Dan Hall * Minnesota Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen * Minnesota Sen. Sean Nienow * Minnesota Sen. Ben Kruse * Minnesota Sen. David Brown * Minnesota Sen. Gretchen Hoffman * Minnesota Sen. John Carlson * Minnesota Rep. Joe McDonald * Minnesota Rep. Mike LeMieur * K.J. McDonald, Mayor of Watertown, former Minnesota state representative * Peter Adolphson, former Minnesota state representative *
New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
Sen. Jim Luther * New Hampshire Rep. Jason Antosz * New Hampshire Rep. Lenette Peterson * New Hampshire Rep. Matt Swank * New Hampshire Rep. Jeanine Notter * New Hampshire Rep. Wes Shuler * New Hampshire Rep. Sue DeLemus * Seth Morgan, former Ohio state representative *
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
Sen.
Josh Brecheen Joshua Chad Brecheen (, , born June 19, 1979) is a Native American politician who has served as the U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Oklahoma ...
* Oklahoma Sen.
Mike Schulz Mike Schulz (born March 5, 1964) is an American politician who served as a member of the Oklahoma Senate from 2006 to 2018. A farmer from Southwestern Oklahoma, Schulz was first elected to office in 2006. Early life and education Schulz was bor ...
* Oklahoma Sen. Patrick Anderson * Oklahoma Sen. Gary Stanislawski * Oklahoma Sen. Anthony Sykes * Oklahoma Rep. Pam Peterson * Oklahoma Rep.
Sally Kern Sally Kern (born November 27, 1946) is an American politician and former educator who served as a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives for the 84th district from 2005 to 2017. Early life and education Kern was born in Jonesboro, Ar ...
* Oklahoma Rep. Steve Martin * Oklahoma Rep. Sean Roberts * Oklahoma Rep. Mike Reynolds * Oklahoma Rep. David Derby * Oklahoma Rep. David Brumbaugh * Oklahoma Rep. Dennis Johnson * Oklahoma Rep. Mark McCullough *
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati * Pennsylvania Senate Appropriations Committee chairman
Jake Corman Jacob Doyle Corman III (born September 9, 1964) is an American politician who served as the president pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate from 2020 to 2022. He was a member of the Pennsylvania Senate 1999 to 2022, holding the same seat his f ...
*
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
Sen. Chip Campsen * South Carolina Rep. Deborah Long * South Carolina Rep. Greg Delleney *
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
Rep. Sheila Butt * Tennessee Rep. Jimmy Matlock * Tennessee Rep. Bill Dunn * Tennessee Rep. Don Miller * Tennessee Rep. Joshua Evans * Tennessee Rep. Mark Pody * Tennessee Rep. Joey Hensley * Tennessee Rep. Dennis Powers * Tennessee Rep. Matthew Hill * Tennessee Rep. Art Swann * Tennessee Rep. Andy Holt * Tennessee Rep. Rick Womick *
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
Sen.
Glenn Grothman Glenn Sholes Grothman ( ; born July 3, 1955) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative from Wisconsin's 6th congressional district. A member of the Republican Party, he was first elected to his seat in 2014. Gro ...
* Wisconsin Rep. Andre Jacque * Wisconsin Rep. Evan Wynn * Wisconsin Rep. Daniel LeMahieu * Wisconsin Rep. Scott Krug * Wisconsin Rep.
Stephen Nass Stephen L. Nass (born October 7, 1952) is an American Republican politician from Whitewater, Wisconsin. He is a member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing the 11th Senate district since 2015. He previously served 24 years in the Wisconsin S ...
* John Gard, former Speaker of the
Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...
Individuals * Cathie Adams, President, Texas Eagle Forum, former chairman of the
Texas Republican Party The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) is the Texas affiliate of the Republican Party in the United States. It is currently chaired by Abraham George, who succeeded Matt Rinaldi in 2024. The party is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and is legall ...
*
Gary Bauer Gary Lee Bauer (born May 4, 1946) is an American civil servant, activist, and former political candidate. He served in President Ronald Reagan's administration as Under Secretary of Education and Chief Domestic Policy Advisor, and later became pr ...
, President of American Values *
James Dobson James Clayton Dobson Jr. (born April 21, 1936) is an American evangelicalism, evangelical Christian author, psychologist, and founder of Focus on the Family (FotF), which he led from 1977 until 2010. In the 1980s, he was ranked as one of the m ...
, founder of
Focus on the Family Focus on the Family (FOTF or FotF) is an American Christian fundamentalism, Evangelical Protestant organization founded in 1977 in Southern California by James Dobson, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The group is one of a number of Evangel ...
,
Family Research Council The Family Research Council (FRC) is an American evangelical 501(c)(3) non-profit activist group and think-tank with an affiliated lobbying organization. FRC promotes what it considers to be family values. It opposes and lobbies against access ...
, and Family Talk *
Jim Bob Duggar James Robert Duggar (born July 18, 1965) is an American politician and television personality. He appeared on the reality series ''19 Kids and Counting,'' which aired from 2008 to 2015. From 1999 to 2003, he was a Republican Party (United States) ...
and wife Michelle, stars of ''
19 Kids and Counting ''19 Kids and Counting'' (formerly ''17 Kids and Counting'' and ''18 Kids and Counting'') is an American reality television series that aired on the cable channel TLC for seven years until its cancellation in 2015. The show features the Duggar ...
'' *
Foster Friess Foster Stephen Friess (April 2, 1940 – May 27, 2021) was an American investment manager and prominent donor to the Republican Party and to Christian right causes. He unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for governor of Wyoming in t ...
, businessman and founder of Friess Associates *
Maggie Gallagher Margaret Gallagher (born September 14, 1960) is an American writer, socially conservative commentator, and activist. She wrote a syndicated column for Universal Press Syndicate from 1995 to 2013 and has written several books. Gallagher found ...
, president of the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy and former chairman of the
National Organization for Marriage The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is an American non-profit political organization established to work against the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States. It was formed in 2007 specifically to pass California Propos ...
* Alex and Brett Harris, founders of The Rebelution *
Michelle Malkin Michelle Malkin (; Maglalang; born October 20, 1970) is an American conservative political commentator. She was a Fox News contributor and in May 2020 joined Newsmax TV. Malkin has written seven books and founded the conservative commentary ...
, conservative author and commentator * Ed Morrissey, conservative blogger on
Hot Air ''Hot Air'' is a conservatism in the United States, conservative American political blog. It is written by Ed Morrissey, John Sexton, and David Strom. Karen Townsend and Jazz Shaw wrote for the blog until their deaths in 2024. The pseudonymous ...
*
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...
, chairman and CEO of
News Corporation The original incarnation of News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp. and also variously known as News Corporation Limited) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media corporation founded and controlled by media mogul Ru ...
*
Dave Mustaine David Scott Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is best known as the co-founder, frontman, primary songwriter and sole consistent member of the thrash metal band Megadeth and for his time as the lead guitarist of Met ...
, Lead vocalist of
Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal—alo ...
* Tony Perkins, president of the
Family Research Council The Family Research Council (FRC) is an American evangelical 501(c)(3) non-profit activist group and think-tank with an affiliated lobbying organization. FRC promotes what it considers to be family values. It opposes and lobbies against access ...
and former Republican member of the
Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (; ) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 representatives, each of whom represents approximately 4 ...
* Brad Thor, bestselling novelist *
Bob Vander Plaats Robert Lee Vander Plaats (born April 12, 1963) is an American politician and political activist. Since 2010, he has been the president and CEO of The Family Leader, a socially conservative organization in Iowa. Active in Republican Party poli ...
, president and CEO of The Family Leader * Richard Viguerie, conservative activist and chairman of ConservativeHQ.com * Shelley Ahlersmeyer, grassroots coordinator for Huck PAC *
Sam Clovis Samuel Harvey Clovis Jr. (born September 18, 1949) is a former United States Air Force officer, talk radio host, and political figure. Clovis is currently retired in Iowa. Clovis unsuccessfully ran for Iowa state treasurer in the 2014 electio ...
,
Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Iowa. The county seat of Woodbury County, Sioux City is the primar ...
talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...
host * Cary Gordon, pastor of Cornerstone Church in
Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, Woodbury and Plymouth County, Iowa, Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, fo ...
* Chuck Hurley, president of the Iowa Family Policy Center * Lori Jungling, former Iowa Huck PAC Coordinator * Kim Lehman, RNC National Committeeman of
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
* Abby Johnson, anti-abortion activist and a former
Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization
clinic director * Penny Nance, President and CEO of
Concerned Women for America Concerned Women for America (CWA) is a socially conservative, evangelical Christian non-profit women's legislative action committee in the United States. Headquartered in Washington D.C., the CWA is involved in social and political movements ...
* John Stemberger, President of Florida Election Central * Stephen Strang, publisher of
Charisma (magazine) ''Charisma'' (also known as ''Charisma + Christian Life'' and Charisma News) is a monthly Christianity, Christian magazine based in Lake Mary, Florida, a suburb of Orlando, Florida, Orlando. It is aimed at Pentecostalism, Pentecostals and Charis ...
* Ron Carey, former chairman of the
Republican Party of Minnesota The Republican Party of Minnesota is the state affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in Minnesota and the oldest active political party in the state. Founded in 1855, the party is headquartered in Edina, Minnesota, E ...
*
Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, television personality, radio host and philanthropist. He sold nearly 50 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and has acted in many films. Boone ...
, singer *
Tony Raines Floyd Anthony Raines (born April 14, 1964) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He is a former National Touring Series champion in the American Speed Association and NASCAR Rookie of the Year#NASCAR Nationwide Series, 1999 R ...
,
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
driver * Sharron Angle, former Nevada Assemblywoman, 2010 Republican nominee for U.S. Senate from Nevada, and Tea Party activist *
Philip Rivers Philip Michael Rivers (born December 8, 1981) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Chargers franchise. He played college football for the ...
,
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
quarterback *
Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila Muhammed-Kabeer Olarewaju Gbaja-Biamila Sr. ( ; born September 24, 1977), nicknamed "KGB", is an American former professional football player who spent his entire nine-year career as a defensive end for the Green Bay Packers of the National Foo ...
, former NFL defensive end *
Michael W. Smith Michael Whitaker Smith (born October 7, 1957) is an American musician who has charted in both contemporary Christian music, contemporary Christian and mainstream charts. His biggest success in mainstream music was in 1991 when "Place in This Worl ...
, Contemporary Christian Musician *
Mike Sweeney Michael John Sweeney (born July 22, 1973) is an American former Major League Baseball designated hitter and first baseman. Sweeney played his first 13 seasons in the majors with the Kansas City Royals, first as a catcher, then at first base and ...
, former
MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
player * Seth Morgan, Former State Representative, Radio Show Host, Conservative Coalition Leader * Phil Burress, President of Citizens for Community Values * Tom Zawistowski, Founder of Portage County Tea Party * Lori Viars, President of Conservative Republican Leadership Committee * Linda Theis, President of Ohio ProLife Action * Brad Mattes, executive director of Life Issues Institute *Tony Maas, board member of Family First * Mark Lucas, Leader of Hilliard-Galloway Tea Party & 912 * Diane Stover, Director of NE Ohio Values Voters * Bobbi Radeck, State Director of Concerned Women for America of Ohio * Glenn Newman, Founder of Marietta 912 * Burr Robinson, Chairman of Cincinnati East Tea Party *Andy Douglas, Director of Christians for Constitutional Awareness * Larry Heller, Leader of Miami Township Tea Party * Joseph Platt, board member of Family First * Sue Hardenbergh, Co-Leader of Anderson Tea Party * Paula Westwood, executive director of Cincinnati Right to Life *Scott Nichols, co-founder of Clermont County Tea Party * Crystal Gurry, Legislative Liaison of Concerned Women for America of Ohio * Calvin Pauley, Miami Township Tea Party Screening Committee * Kelly Kohls, Chairman of Warren County Tea Party * Debbie Smith, President of Warren County Right to Life * Dawn Slike, former Operations Director, Lake County Right to Life * Marcie Garrison Longenecker, Executive Committee of Liberty Alliance Cincinnati *Brian Burch, President, CatholicVote.org Candidate Fund * Tim Busch, businessman, philanthropist, and attorney *Ken Campbell, California Conservative Leader *Peggy Dau, Special Liaison Representative, Voice of the Martyrs *Penna Dexter, radio host and commentator * Elaine Donnelly, founder of the Center for Military Readiness * Tim Echols, Georgia Public Service Commission *Kirk Elliott, Philanthropia, founder and chairman *William J. Estrada, Director, Generation Joshua *
Joseph Farah Joseph Francis Farah (born July 6, 1954) is an American author, journalist, and editor-in-chief of the far-right website ''WorldNetDaily'' ''(WND)''. Farah gained prominence for promoting conspiracy theories surrounding the suicide of Vince Fo ...
, Editor and chief executive officer, World Net Daily and WND Books *Robert Fischer, President, Fischer Furniture, Inc *Richard Ford, President, Heritage Alliance *Michael Geer, Family Policy Leader, Harrisburg, PA *Ellen Grigsby, Conservative Leader *Rebecca Hagelin, President, Rebecca Hagelin Communications and Marketing, LLC *Patrick and Toya Hall, Vice President of
Guadalupe Radio Network Guadalupe Radio Network is an American radio network based in Midland, Texas. It is owned by La Promesa Foundation, and is Doing Business As (D.B.A.) Guadalupe Radio Network. The Guadalupe Radio Network provides Catholic religious radio program ...
* Jason Jones, Producer of the film "Bella" *Tim LeFever, chairman of the board, Capitol Resource Institute *Brad Mattes, executive director, Life Issues Institute * William J. Murray, chairman, Religious Freedom Coalition *Richard Neill, Texas Conservative Leader *Preston Noell III, President, Tradition, Family, Property, Inc. *Pam Olsen, President, Florida Prayer Network *Nancy and
Paul Pressler Paul S. Pressler (born 1956) is an American business executive. He is currently the chairman of the board of directors of eBay. He has previously held executive positions at companies such as Gap, Inc., The Walt Disney Company, and was a partner ...
, Justice of
Texas Courts of Appeals The Texas Courts of Appeals are part of the Texas judicial system. In Texas, all cases appealed from district and county courts, criminal and civil, go to one of the fifteen intermediate courts of appeals, with one exception: death penalty cases. ...
, 1978-1992 * Penny Pullen, Illinois State Representative 1977–1993, State President, Eagle Forum of Illinois * Jill Stanek, anti-abortion activist and blogger *John Stemberger, Florida Family Action *Stacy Taylor, Texas Conservative Leader *
Hank Williams Jr. Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style has been described as a blend of rock, blues, and country. He is the son of count ...
, singer


See also

*
Republican Party presidential primaries, 2012 Voters of the Republican Party elected state delegations to the 2012 Republican National Convention in presidential primaries. The national convention then selected its nominee to run for President of the United States in the 2012 presidenti ...


References


External links


Rick Santorum
''official campaign site''
Column archives
at ''
Townhall.com Townhall is an American conservative website, print magazine and radio news service. Katie Pavlich is Editor. Previously published by The Heritage Foundation, it is now owned and operated by Salem Communications. The website features more tha ...
'' * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rick Santorum presidential campaign, 2012 Presidential Campaign 2012 Santorum, Rick