Jump to content

Rick Santorum 2012 presidential campaign

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rick Santorum President 2012
CampaignU.S. presidential election, 2012
CandidateRick Santorum
Former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania
(1995-2007)
AffiliationRepublican Party
StatusSuspended (April 10, 2012)
HeadquartersLynchburg, Virginia
Key peopleMike Biundo[1] (campaign manager)
John Brabender (senior advisor / media consultant)
Hogan Gidley (senior communications advisor)
Virginia Davis (senior communications advisor / spokeswoman)
Seth Leibsohn (director of policy and speechwriting)
Amanda Kornegay (finance director)[2][3]
ReceiptsUS$22,882,887 (July 31, 2012)
SloganThe Courage to Fight for America (previously "Fighting to Make America America Again")
Theme song"Remember Who We Are" by Krista Branch
Website
RickSantorum.com
(archived - April 7, 2012)

Former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania 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 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.[4] On April 10, 2012, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Santorum announced the suspension of his campaign.

Background and campaign announcement

[edit]

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 with Federal Election Commission, and announced the organization on the Fox News program On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren on April 13, 2011.[5] He formally announced his run for the Republican presidential nomination on ABC's Good Morning America on Monday, June 6, 2011.

Campaign developments

[edit]

In an August 2011 interview with The Des Moines Register's editorial board, Santorum said "I'm the only person in this race by measuring the Gallup 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."[6]

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.[7] The finish was seen[8][9] as a surprising and successful one; he finished just behind Tim Pawlenty, 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.[10] Although he was considered a "joke" candidate and panned as unelectable in some quarters, his solid consistency among fellow anti-abortion Catholics kept him in the race.[8][11][12]

Santorum was one of the non-Mormon candidates to directly take on the accusations of Mormonism being a cult.[13]

Santorum has openly promoted natalist government policies as part of his campaign platform.[14]

Comments about homosexuality

[edit]

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", if elected president.[15] 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."[15] 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.[16] At another event, Santorum suggested that children would be better off having a father in prison than being raised by lesbian parents.[17]

Focus on Iowa

[edit]

Santorum focused much of his efforts on the early caucus state of Iowa. 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.[18]

Santorum's candidacy was compared to that of Mike Huckabee, 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 reported in November 2011 that conservatives had gone on a "carousel" of supporting different candidates against Mitt Romney, from Michele Bachmann to Rick Perry to Herman Cain to Newt Gingrich. As such, Santorum would be next on the "carousel".[18]

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, 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.[19] Santorum also gained the confidence of several evangelical religious leaders and Sarah Palin for his "ideological consistency".[20][21]

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."[22] 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.[23]

There were complaints about a statement made in Sioux City, Iowa, 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".[24][25][26][27]

Significant endorsements

[edit]

Santorum received endorsements from several major Iowa conservative leaders in the fall of 2011. Prominent social conservatives Bob Vander Plaats[28][29] and Chuck Hurley,[29][30] both leaders of the Family Leader social conservative advocacy organization, praised Santorum's conservative record on social issues. Sioux City 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."[31]

Other endorsements included Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz,[32] Cornerstone Church pastor and evangelical leader Cary Gordon,[20] and bestselling thriller novelist Brad Thor.[33]

In November 2011, conservative commentator Glenn Beck 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."[34]

Late surge in polls

[edit]
Santorum campaigning in Iowa in January 2012.

After support for Newt Gingrich faded in Iowa, Santorum received a late surge in polling in the week prior to the caucuses; a CNN 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.[35] 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."[35]

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."[36] On December 31, 2011, the Des Moines Register 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."[37] The Register's pollster said, "Momentum's name is Rick Santorum."[38]

Victory in Iowa

[edit]

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).[39] 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.[40] Santorum's campaign reportedly raised over $1 million in less than 24 hours after his finish in the caucuses,[41] 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.[42][43]

New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida

[edit]

He finished fourth in the New Hampshire primary on January 10, 2012, ahead of Newt Gingrich.[44]

On January 14, 2012, during the run-up to the South Carolina primary, Santorum won the endorsement of the Family Research Council, 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.[44] 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."[45]

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 that kills most sufferers before their first birthday, fell ill and came close to death in a bout with pneumonia.[46] Santorum left the campaign trail for several days to be with her in the hospital.[47] He said she made a miraculous turnaround.[48] Santorum finished third in Florida's primary with 223,208 votes (13%).[49]

February

[edit]
Santorum speaking at a rally in Phoenix, Arizona.

On February 5, 2012, Rasmussen Reports' 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.[50]

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[51] 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,[52] 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.[53][54] Two days before the vote Public Policy Polling (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.[55]

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.[56]

Santorum did not do any campaigning for the Maine caucuses, but still took 18% and third place in the results announced February 11.[57]

Comments Santorum had made in October 2011[58] about "the dangers of contraception in this country, the whole sexual libertine idea" received renewed attention in February[59][60] with some observers noting that at a January 9 debate Santorum had indicated that he was not interested in making contraception a campaign issue.[61] AP writers suggest that "his ideas would probably be surprising, even puzzling, to general election voters."[62]

On February 17, Mike DeWine, the current Attorney General of Ohio and a former United States Senator, announced that he was retracting his endorsement of Mitt Romney and endorsing Santorum, with whom he had served in the Senate.[63] 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."[64] 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 Protestantism" "is gone from the world of Christianity as I see it."[65] Although conservative talk host Rush Limbaugh said on February 21 that Santorum would have to "answer for these" remarks,[66] a columnist for The Economist 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."[67]

The next contests were in Michigan and Arizona 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.[68] Both campaigns fought hard, and Romney went on to edge Santorum 41%–38%.[69] went on to finish second in Michigan, getting 14 delegates and no delegates in Arizona. Santorum received 27% in Arizona but no delegates since it was a winner-take-all state.[70]

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.[71] However, the Michigan Republican Party's credentials committee voted to award both at-large delegates to Romney for a 16–14 edge for Romney.[72] 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.[71] Santorum's campaign asked the Republican National Committee to investigate.[72]

Super Tuesday

[edit]

Ten states held contests on Super Tuesday on March 6, 2012. Santorum won in North Dakota (where he took 40% of the vote), Oklahoma (34%), and Tennessee (37%).[73] He finished second in Ohio, Alaska, Idaho, Massachusetts, and Vermont. He finished third in Georgia, and did not campaign in Virginia, where only Romney and Paul qualified for the ballot.

Ohio

[edit]

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 to say that there was "no real gender gap" between the two frontrunners.[74] 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.[74] 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.[74]

Rest of March

[edit]

After winning Kansas on March 10, Santorum swept the Southern primaries held on March 13, 2012, strengthening his campaign as he won Alabama by five points and Mississippi 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.[75] In his victory speech, Santorum said, "We did it again," to jubilant supporters, calling for conservatives to pull together behind his campaign.[75] "For someone who thinks this race is inevitable, [Romney] spent 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.[75]

Santorum finished second in Illinois on March 20, 2012 with 35% to Romney's 47%.[76] 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.[76] 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 on March 24, 2012, taking 49% of the vote, trouncing Romney by 22 points.[77] The victory further showed Santorum's underdog capability, especially in more conservative states.[78] 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."[79]

End of campaign

[edit]

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."[80] 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 reporter Jeff Zeleny, who questioned his remarks about Romney.[81] Santorum finished second in Wisconsin with 37% to Romney's 44%.[82]

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 wrote,

Largely ignored as he drove past the cornfields of Iowa in a pickup, Santorum doggedly met with voters at diners, farms and county fairs. Sometimes only one voter would show up, but he kept plugging away, holding nearly 400 events across the state's 99 counties.

That work paid off in a surprise win in Iowa and in 10 other states as he became the physical manifestation of the GOP base's unhappiness with Romney. But in states where he could have blunted Romney's march, he fell to a barrage of negative ads from the flush Romney operation. Santorum's ill-funded team had neither the resources nor the organization for important basics like filling slates of delegates, meaning that even in states he won he could not fully shake Romney.

Santorum's decision came as key GOP figures had begun to coalesce behind the former Massachusetts governor, arguing that it was time for the party to focus on beating Obama."[83]

Santorum won around 250 delegates (counts vary between 240–270 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.[84]

After dropping out, Santorum continued raising money to settle his debt, raising half a million dollars from thousands of donors in May 2012.[85] Santorum released his delegates ahead of the Republican National Convention to vote for Romney.[86] Nine delegates cast their votes for Santorum anyway.

Endorsements

[edit]
List of Rick Santorum endorsements

Santorum has received endorsements from:

Organizations
Current and Former U.S. Congressmen
State Officials
Individuals

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Rick Santorum – Organization – p2012.org
  2. ^ "Talent and Organization – Building Towards 2012". P2012.org. Archived from the original on December 20, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  3. ^ "Santorum Key Staff and Advisers". Politico. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  4. ^ Kim Geiger (February 7, 2012), "Rick Santorum sweeps Tuesday contests with Colorado win" The Los Angeles Times
  5. ^ "Rick Santorum announces his next step in a possible run for the Presidency". YouTube. April 14, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  6. ^ "Santorum in his own words on Huntsman, working women and sexual liberty | Iowa Caucuses". Caucuses.desmoinesregister.com. August 5, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  7. ^ "Bachmann wins Ames straw poll". Campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com. August 13, 2011. Archived from the original on November 13, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  8. ^ a b "Rick Santorum gets straw poll bump – Dan Hirschhorn". Politico.Com. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  9. ^ "Ames Straw Poll: Pawlenty Pays Price, Santorum Rewarded For Courage". Caffeinated Thoughts. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  10. ^ "Rick Santorum gets straw poll bump". Politico.com. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  11. ^ Staff, Slate (August 18, 2011). "The Persistence of Rick Santorum". Slate.com. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  12. ^ "Rick Santorum courts Iowa support others skip – Dan Hirschhorn". Politico.Com. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  13. ^ "2 Romney challengers dodge Christian question." AP, October 9, 2011.
  14. ^ "Santorum: More babies, please!". Politico.
  15. ^ a b Lucy Madison (September 23, 2011). "Republican Gay rights group demands apology from Santorum". CBS News.
  16. ^ Goldman, Julianna (January 10, 2012). "Santorum Draws Boos From College Crowd for Opposing Gay Marriage". San Francisco Chronicle.
  17. ^ Swaine, Jon (January 8, 2012). "US election 2012: Rick Santorum under pressure in New Hampshire over social stances". The Daily Telegraph.
  18. ^ a b "Santorum eyes brass ring on anti-Romney 'carousel'". Washingtontimes.com. November 24, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  19. ^ "Santorum slams Gingrich's performance as House Speaker (audio)". Radioiowa.com. December 5, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  20. ^ a b c "Sioux City evangelical minister to endorse Rick Santorum".
  21. ^ Wing, Nicholas (December 2, 2011). "Sarah Palin: Rick Santorum Has Been 'Consistent,' Could Gain Traction In Primary (VIDEO)". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  22. ^ Santorum makes steady progress as Iowa conservatives search for candidate, but is it enough?
  23. ^ "Rick Santorum Pitches Electability Just Two Weeks Before the Iowa Caucuses". Abcnews.go.com. December 20, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  24. ^ Santorum denies making black people remark retrieved January 26, 2012
  25. ^ Holland, Jesse (January 19, 2012). "GOP Campaign Rhetoric Raising Racial Concerns". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. A.8.
  26. ^ "'Blah,' not 'black,' says Santorum". Philadelphia Inquirer. January 6, 2012. p. A.5. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015.
  27. ^ Spillius, Alex (January 8, 2012). "Unlikely rise of Santorum". The Sunday Telegraph. London (UK). p. 28.[permanent dead link]
  28. ^ Zeleny, Jeff (December 20, 2011). "Vander Plaats Endorses Santorum". Thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  29. ^ a b c "Rick Santorum gets endorsement from Bob Vander Plaats and Chuck Hurley". Caucuses.desmoinesregister.com. December 20, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  30. ^ "Family Leader Talks Presidential Endorsement". Kcci.com. December 20, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  31. ^ a b "Rick Santorum Picks Up Two Endorsements". Abcnews.go.com. December 19, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  32. ^ "Iowa's Secretary of State Matt Schultz to Endorse Rick Santorum". Abcnews.go.com. December 9, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  33. ^ a b "Brad Thor endorses Santorum, eyes Iowa". Politico.com. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  34. ^ Glenn Beck: Rick Santorum "is the next George Washington" Archived November 17, 2011, at the Library of Congress Web Archives
  35. ^ a b "CNN Poll: Romney on top, Gingrich fading & Santorum rising in Iowa". Politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com. December 28, 2011. Archived from the original on January 1, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  36. ^ "Huckabee: Romney will likely win Iowa, Santorum could surprise". Politico.com. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  37. ^ "Romney leads Paul in new Des Moines Register Iowa Poll; Santorum surges". Caucuses.desmoinesregister.com. December 31, 2011. Archived from the original on January 3, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  38. ^ Leubsdorf, Ben (January 2, 2012). "Iowa poll: Santorum surging". Concord Monitor. Concord, N.H.
  39. ^ AP (April 7, 2010). "Romney Edges Out Santorum to Win Iowa Caucuses". Foxnews.com. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  40. ^ "Preston: Short sprint or long haul to GOP nomination?". Cnn.com. January 4, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  41. ^ "Santorum has raised $1M since last night". Politico.com. December 30, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  42. ^ Camia, Catalina (January 21, 2012). "Santorum Officially Declared Iowa Winner". USA Today. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
  43. ^ "Iowa Republican Primary Results". CBSNews.com. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
  44. ^ a b "Santorum says endorsement helping in S.C and beyond". Usatoday.com. January 15, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  45. ^ Rick Santorum Says He’s Going Nowhere, in It for ‘Long Haul’
  46. ^ Santorum: Bella 'doing great'
  47. ^ Rick Santorum says daughter Bella is out of hospital
  48. ^ Rick Santorum Says Daughter Bella Has a ‘Miraculous Turnaround’
  49. ^ "RESULTS: Florida". CNN. February 1, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2012.
  50. ^ Daily Presidential Tracking Poll
  51. ^ Rosalind S. Helderman and Nia-Malika Henderson (February 8, 2012), "Rick Santorum’s strategy of focusing on low-key races paid off" The Washington Post
  52. ^ Santorum Upsets G.O.P. Race With Three Victories
  53. ^ Steve Holland (February 8, 2012), "Three-state sweep revives Santorum's White House hopes" Reuters
  54. ^ 2012 Missouri Primary Results Archived November 16, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  55. ^ "Romney up in Colorado, close race in Minnesota" Public Policy Polling February 5, 2012
  56. ^ Jonathan Karl (February 13, 2012), "Rick Santorum, Frontrunner?" ABC News
  57. ^ "2012 Maine Caucuses". Fox News. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  58. ^ Vander Hart, Shane. "Interview with Rick Santorum: A Champion for the Family, Manufacturing Jobs". CaffeinatedThoughts.com. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
  59. ^ "Rick Santorum Says Sex Life Should be 'Special'". International Business Times. February 15, 2012.
  60. ^ "Rick Santorum Fine With Shaming Women in Certain Situations". February 15, 2012.
  61. ^ Michael Scherer (February 14, 2012), "Rick Santorum Wants to Fight 'The Dangers Of Contraception'" TIME
  62. ^ Cass, Connie. "Being a Pill About the Pill? Santorum Vs US Views". Newsday. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
  63. ^ "Ohio AG Mike DeWine switches backing from Romney to Santorum before GOP presidential primary". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 18, 2012.
  64. ^ Peoples, Steve. "Rick Santorum questions Obama's Christian values." AP. February 18, 2012.
  65. ^ Montopoli, Brian (February 21, 2012). "Santorum in '08: 'Satan is attacking' America". CBS News. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  66. ^ Limbaugh, Rush. "Santorum Will Have to Answer on Satan". RushLimbaugh.com. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  67. ^ "Rick Santorum may have many qualities, but the main one is that he isn’t Mitt Romney" The Economist February 25, 2012
  68. ^ Green, Joshua (March 23, 2013). "The Secret Gingrich-Santorum 'Unity Ticket' That Nearly Toppled Romney". BloombergBusinessweek. Archived from the original on March 23, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  69. ^ "Michigan Republican Primary". The New York Times. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
  70. ^ "Arizona Presidential Primary". The New York Times. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
  71. ^ a b Republican discord continues, national GOP to investigate Michigan party leaders?
  72. ^ a b "Rick Santorum files protest over Michigan delegates". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 3, 2012.
  73. ^ NY Times primary calendar
  74. ^ a b c Mitt Romney vs. Rick Santorum: 7 lessons from Ohio voters
  75. ^ a b c Santorum Takes 2 Races in South; Romney Is Third
  76. ^ a b Illinois Results
  77. ^ Louisiana results
  78. ^ Rick Santorum Triumphs Over Mitt Romney in Louisiana
  79. ^ Santorum Gets a Boost in Winning Louisiana
  80. ^ Rick Santorum courts Wisconsin conservatives on eve of primary
  81. ^ Jeramy Richter (March 26, 2012), Rick Santorum Cursing Out 'New York Times' Reporter 3/26/12, retrieved February 9, 2016
  82. ^ Wisconsin Republican Primary
  83. ^ "Santorum clears path for Romney". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 14, 2012.
  84. ^ "Sen. Rick Santorum 'On the Record'". Archived from the original on May 5, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  85. ^ Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum campaigns deep in debt
  86. ^ "Santorum releases delegates ahead of GOP convention". Archived from the original on August 30, 2012. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
  87. ^ "Santorum endorsed by 'nation's oldest & largest' GOP volunteer group". CNN. Archived from the original on November 1, 2011.
  88. ^ Santorum Receives Latin Builders Association Endorsement
  89. ^ "Susan B. Anthony List Endorses Santorum – By Jim Geraghty – The Campaign Spot – National Review Online". National Review. February 17, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  90. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de df "Support for Rick". Ricksantorum.com. Archived from the original on March 11, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  91. ^ "We Pick Rick – Arizona Right to Life Endorses Rick Santorum : Arizona Right To Life". Arizona Right to Life. February 20, 2012. Archived from the original on February 2, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  92. ^ "U.S. Rep. Aderholt endorses Santorum". State Column. February 23, 2012. Archived from the original on February 28, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  93. ^ "ICYMI: Santorum Trumpets Nunnelee Endorsement – Washington Wire". The Wall Street Journal. March 13, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2012.
  94. ^ "Emerson endorses Santorum – St. Louis Beacon". St. Louis Beacon. March 13, 2012. Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2012.
  95. ^ a b c "Rep. Barletta endorses Santorum". The Morning Call. January 12, 2012. Archived from the original on February 2, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  96. ^ Hamby, Peter (February 17, 2012). "Santorum picks up former Romney supporter". CNN. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
  97. ^ a b c "Tom Tancredo Endorses Rick Santorum". CBS Denver. February 1, 2012. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
  98. ^ "Santorum gains Tiahrt endorsement while Romney touts Dole's backing". The Wichita Eagle. March 8, 2012. Retrieved March 9, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  99. ^ "Huppenthal endorses Santorum". The Arizona Republic. February 25, 2012. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
  100. ^ "State Treasurer endorses Santorum in GOP race". February 14, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  101. ^ Hawkins, Rodney (December 8, 2011). "Iowa secretary of state endorses Santorum". CBS News. Retrieved December 18, 2011.
  102. ^ Gomez, Henry J. (February 18, 2012). "Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine switches support from Mitt Romney to Rick Santorum (updated)". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved March 17, 2012.
  103. ^ Smith, Evan (March 10, 2012). "Combs: Santorum "Only Real Conservative" in Race — 2012 Presidential Election". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
  104. ^ "Influential Conservative Florida State Legislator Stands With Santorum". Ricksantorum.com. January 26, 2012. Archived from the original on February 8, 2012. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  105. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Santorum Announces Minnesota Leadership Endorsements". Ricksantorum.com. February 6, 2011. Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  106. ^ "Santorum Receives Two Major Conservative New Hampshire Endorsements". Ricksantorum.com. January 5, 2012. Archived from the original on January 20, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  107. ^ a b c "Santorum Announces New Hampshire Endorsements". Ricksantorum.com. Archived from the original on January 20, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  108. ^ a b "Senator Santorum announces additional New Hampshire endorsements". Ricksantorum.com. September 21, 2011. Archived from the original on January 20, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  109. ^ "Santorum Receives Backing of Prominent Tea Party Leaders". Ricksantorum.com. January 5, 2011. Archived from the original on January 20, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  110. ^ a b "Corman backs Santorum for prez nod". Centre Daily Times. September 6, 2011. Retrieved January 2, 2011.[permanent dead link]
  111. ^ "Conservative Palmetto State Senator Chip Campsen Joins The Fight With Santorum". Ricksantorum.com. January 15, 2012. Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  112. ^ "South Carolina Endorsements for Santorum". Ricksantorum.com. September 15, 2011. Archived from the original on January 13, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  113. ^ "South Carolina Pro-Life Legislator of the Year Endorses Santorum for President". Ricksantorum.com. January 12, 2012. Archived from the original on January 20, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  114. ^ Burns, Alexander (January 7, 2012). "Gary Bauer endorses Rick Santorum". Politico. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  115. ^ "Focus on Family founder James Dobson endorses Rick Santorum". The Washington Post. January 19, 2012. Archived from the original on June 12, 2022.
  116. ^ O'Brien, Michael (January 2, 2012). "Santorum wins support of TLC's Duggar clan". MSNBC. NBCUniversal. Archived from the original on January 3, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  117. ^ "Foster Friess Endorses Rick Santorum". Youtube.com. December 30, 2011. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  118. ^ "FORMER CHAIRMAN OF THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MARRIAGE ENDORSES SANTORUM". The Greenville News. January 12, 2012. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  119. ^ "Former Huck's Army leaders endorse Santorum". Caucuses.desmoinesregister.com. December 27, 2011. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  120. ^ For Santorum
  121. ^ Ed Morrissey endorses Santorum Archived February 2, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  122. ^ "Rick Santorum wins Rupert Murdoch endorsement". The Washington Post. January 3, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  123. ^ "Megadeth's Dave Mustaine Endorses Rick Santorum". Rolling Stone. February 15, 2012. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
  124. ^ Charles, Deborah (April 20, 2011). "Evangelical leaders back Santorum – Yahoo! News". News.yahoo.com. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  125. ^ Zeleny, Jeff (December 20, 2012). "Vander Plaats Endorses Santorum". The New York Times. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
  126. ^ Hillyer, Quin (January 16, 2012). "Richard Viguerie Endorses Santorum". The American Spectator. Archived from the original on January 19, 2012. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
  127. ^ "Rick Santorum picks up HuckPAC's grassroots organizer for Iowa push". Caucuses.desmoinesregister.com. December 21, 2011. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  128. ^ Rick Santorum has ‘a chicken-and-the-egg problem,’ Iowa backer says
  129. ^ Malloy, Daniel (July 13, 2011). "Daily Santorum: Lehman endorses". Earlyreturns.sites.post-gazette.com. Archived from the original on September 15, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  130. ^ "My official endorsement for Rick Santorum". Abby Johnson. January 13, 2012. Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  131. ^ CONCERNED WOMEN FOR AMERICA PRESIDENT PENNY NANCE ENDORSES SANTORUM Archived July 9, 2012, at archive.today
  132. ^ Szobody, Ben (January 17, 2012). "FLORIDA PRO-FAMILY LEADER JOHN STEMBERGER ENDORSES SANTORUM". The Greenville News. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
  133. ^ "I'm Endorsing Rick Santorum for President in the Florida Primary". Charismanews.com. June 21, 2011. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  134. ^ McDevitt, Caitlin (February 6, 2012). "Pat Boone endorses Rick Santorum". Politico. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  135. ^ "Rick Santorum sponsors Tony Raines". NASCAR. NASCAR Media. February 23, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  136. ^ Demirjian, Karoun (February 1, 2012). "Sharron Angle endorses Rick Santorum". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
  137. ^ "Santorum Snags Angle – By Robert Costa – The Corner – National Review Online". National Review. February 1, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
  138. ^ "Philip Rivers gives Rick Santorum a hearty endorsement – Sports News from USA Today". Tucson Citizen. March 8, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  139. ^ "Packer Football Legend Endorses Rick Santorum for President". Ricksantorum.com. April 1, 2012. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  140. ^ "Christian Singer and Three-Time Grammy Winner Michael W. Smith Endorses Santorum for President". March 12, 2012. Archived from the original on March 15, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
  141. ^ "Kansas City Royals All-Star Mike Sweeney Endorses Santorum for President". Ricksantorum.com. March 9, 2012. Archived from the original on March 14, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  142. ^ "Latest News | Rick Santorum for President". Archived from the original on June 9, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
[edit]