Rick Santorum 2016 presidential campaign

The 2016 presidential campaign of Rick Santorum, former United States Senator from Pennsylvania, was formally announced at a rally in Pittsburgh on May 27, 2015.^[2] His campaign for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 2016 was his second bid for the office, after having been a candidate in 2012, where he received the second most delegates after 2012 nominee Mitt Romney.

Rick Santorum
Campaign	Republican primaries U.S. presidential election, 2016
Candidate	Rick Santorum U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania (1995–2007)
Affiliation	Republican Party
Status	Announced: May 27, 2015 Suspended: February 3, 2016
Headquarters	P.O. Box 238 Verona, Pennsylvania
Receipts	US$1,302,884 (2015-12-31[1])
Slogan	Restore the American Dream for hardworking families
Website
www.RickSantorum.com

Santorum at CPAC in 2015

Santorum speaking at an event hosted by the Iowa Republican Party in October 2015.

Santorum suspended his campaign on February 3, 2016, and endorsed Marco Rubio.

Background

2012 election

Main article: Rick Santorum presidential campaign, 2012

Further information: Republican Party presidential primaries, 2012

Santorum was a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2012 election. He announced his campaign on Good Morning America on June 6, 2011. He won 11 contests and received 4 million votes, putting him in second place to nominee Mitt Romney. Facing a tough challenge by Romney, lagging poll numbers and the poor health of his daughter, Santorum announced the suspension of his campaign on April 10, 2012.^[3]

2016 campaign

Santorum has been considered a potential presidential candidate in the 2016 election since at least the suspension of his 2012 campaign. A Los Angeles Times article about Santorum's 2012 campaign suspension mentioned that his strong second-place showing in that election would bolster any effort to get the nomination in 2016 or 2020.^[3] During an interview with Greta Van Susteren on Fox News on May 6, 2015, Santorum commented that he was the underdog in the 2012 election and that he would likely be the underdog again in the 2016 election, saying "We're very comfortable there."^[4] However, eight months in, Santorum failed to get his campaign going, with polling numbers dropping, and staying, below 1.0%.^[5] After a poor showing in the Iowa Caucuses, Santorum announced the suspension of his campaign on February 3, 2016,^[6] giving his endorsement to Marco Rubio.^[7] During an April 25, 2017 question and answer session, however, Santorum commented that Rubio and Cruz would have been inferior to Trump as party nominees.^[8]

Endorsements

See also: Endorsements for the Republican Party presidential primaries, 2016

Rick Santorum endorsements

U.S. Representatives (current)

• Pennsylvania: Lou Barletta^[9][10]

State legislators

• Iowa State Representative: Walt Rogers^[11][12]
• Two New Hampshire State Representatives: Glenn Cordelli,^[13] Kurt Wuelper^[13]
• Five Pennsylvania State Senators: Jake Corman (Majority Leader),^[14] Bob Mensch (Republican Caucus Chairman),^[14] Richard Alloway (Republican Caucus Secretary),^[14] Pat Browne (Appropriations Committee Chairman),^[14] Dave Argall (Republican Policy Committee Chairman)^[14]
• Seven Pennsylvania State Representatives: Mike Turzai (Speaker of the House),^[14] Dave L. Reed (Majority Leader),^[14] Bryan Cutler (Majority Whip),^[14] Sandra Major (Republican Caucus Chairman),^[14] Donna Oberlander (Republican Caucus Secretary),^[14] Brian Ellis (Republican Caucus Administrator),^[14] Kerry Benninghoff (Republican Policy Committee Chairman)^[14]

Businesspeople

• Foster Friess (investor)^[15]

References

1. "Candidate (P20002721) Summary Reports – 2016 Cycle". Federal Election Commission. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
2. "Announcement - Rick Santorum for President". Ricksantorum.com. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
3. Mehta, Seema (April 11, 2012). "Santorum clears path for Romney". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 14, 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
4. Sherfinski, David (May 8, 2015). "Rick Santorum to announce 2016 plans on May 27". The Washington Times. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
5. "2016 National Republican Primary - Polls - HuffPost Pollster". Huffington Post. January 17, 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
6. Flores, Reena (February 3, 2016). "Report: Rick Santorum to quit presidential race". CBSNews.com. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
7. "Rick Santorum Ends 2016 Run, Endorses Marco Rubio". NBC News. Retrieved 2016-02-04.
8. "Rick Santorum in the Age of Trump". Like the Dew. Retrieved 2017-05-07.
9. "U.S. Congressman Lou Barletta endorses Rick Santorum for President". Lisa Graas.
10. Dumain, Emma (2015-02-21). "Who's Backing Who? The House GOP Endorsement List". Blogs.rollcall.com. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
11. "Santorum Begins to Assemble His Iowa Team". The Iowa Republican.
12. "Santorum and Patriot Voices announce Walt Rogers as Iowa Chair". Patriot Voices.
13. "Rick Santorum Announces New Hampshire Endorsements". blog.4president.org. October 6, 2015.
14. "Pennsylvania Republican Legislative Leaders Endorse Rick Santorum for President". blog.4president.org. July 14, 2015.
15. "Here's where all the presidential candidates get their campaign money". Yahoo News. July 21, 2015.