WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — According to local media, Santorum has been meeting with activists and party leaders in early-voting US states to gain support ahead of his run.
“This race with your help and God’s grace we can change this nation. Join us,” Santorum said in his presidential campaign announcement in Pennsylvania.
Santorum is the seventh Republican candidate to join the race. He will challenge Republican candidates Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Mike Huckabee and Carly Fiorina for the presidential nomination.
Rick Santorum served as US Representative from Pennsylvania’s 18th congressional district from 1990 until 1994, and as US Senator from 1995 until 2007.
In the years following his departure from the Senate, Santorum worked as a consultant, private-practice lawyer, and news contributor. On June 6, 2011 Santorum announced his run for the Republican nomination in the 2012 US presidential election. Upon announcing his campaign suspension on April 10, 2012, he had won 11 primaries and caucuses and received nearly 4 million votes, making him the runner-up to eventual nominee Mitt Romney. Santorum officially endorsed Romney on May 7, 2012.
