Rick Santorum
Rick Santorum Making More Moves Towards Presidential Run
It should come as no surprise to many political observers that pro-life former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum is interested in making a bid for the Republican nomination for president.
In what is believed to be a lead-in to an announcement, CNN reports today that Santorum is announcing he has hired a top strategist in the early primary state of New Hampshire to help him make inroads with voters. Santorum also has plans to visit New Hampshire, the site of the second biggest battle in the primary election campaign following Iowa.
Mike Biundo, who most recently helped Republican Frank Guinta win a campaign for mayor of Manchester, the state's largest city, is the operative who is coming on board with Santorum in the state. Biundo will serve as the state director for "America's Foundation," Santorum's political action committee. Ref. Source 3
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Thursday that a new tally from the Iowa caucus resulted in a "virtual tie" between him and Rick Santorum.
His statement came after the Des Moines Register newspaper reported Santorum wound up with a 34-vote advantage over Romney, though the paper said results from several precincts were missing and there are "too many holes" in the certified totals to know the victor for certain. Ref. CNN
Rick Santorum (Hover)
Certified vote totals show former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania is the winner of the January 3 Iowa caucuses, barely beating ex-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney by a 34-vote margin.
Iowa Republican Party Chairman Matt Strawn released the certified the results Thursday, two weeks after the closest presidential caucuses in Iowa history.
In the initial returns, Romney had claimed victory with an eight-vote margin over Santorum.
Iowa party rules stipulate a two-week certification process for each of the 1,774 precincts to submit final results. They had a deadline of 5 p.m. Wednesday to turn in their documents. Ref. CNN
Santorum Says Disabled Daughter Bella's Condition Improving
Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum said late Sunday that the medical condition that forced the Santorum family to hospitalize the little girl over the weekend has dramatically improved.
Santorum had canceled some of his Florida campaign events to be with his sick daughter, Bella, who has Edwards Syndrome or Trisomy 18, a chromosomal condition which results in stillbirth 50 percent of the time. Bella was admitted to the hospital Saturday night because she has pneumonia in both of her lungs, according to campaign aides. The little girl is not on a ventilator. The family has medical equipment they use for their daughter and normally try to keep her out of the hospital if possible due to potential infections.
Although Bella was frequently hospitalized during the first year of her life, her family has been able to care for her at home apart from needed surgeries and she has not spent any significant time in the hospital until now.
"A simple cold can kill her, and it almost did this weekend. She ended up with pneumonia and a cold," Santorum told Glenn Beck on his radio show Monday. "But she was able to get great care and yesterday really made a great turn around and she will be out of the ICU today and so we are getting back to normal here." "She had a very tough go of it, but yesterday afternoon she rallied, and she's on the mend," he said. "We are feeling very, very blessed, I just want to thank everybody for their prayers." Ref. Source 1
In a three-state sweep, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum will win the Colorado GOP caucuses, Colorado GOP chair says.
Santorum is also projected to win the Minnesota GOP caucuses and the Missouri primary, held this evening.
There are 33 delegates at stake tonight (three additional delegates are Republican National Committee members and are not tied to the contest).
The Minnesota caucus vote is nonbinding. CNN will tentatively estimate delegates using vote results until preferences of actual national convention delegates can be determined. Ref. CNN
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum will win the Louisiana GOP primary, CNN projects.
Twenty of the state's 46 delegates are at stake in the primary and will be awarded proportionally.
Before the Louisiana vote, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had 563 delegates, more than twice the 251 Santorum had in hand, according to a CNN estimate.
A total of 1,144 delegates are needed to secure the Republican nomination ahead of the party's convention in Tampa, Florida, at the end of August.
The Republican candidates face off again on April 3 with contests in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Ref. CNN
Rick Santorum Meets With Conservatives to Reassess Campaign
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, fresh off defeats in Wisconsin and Maryland and polls showing him likely to lose his home state of Pennsylvania to Mitt Romney, met with conservative leaders today to reassess his campaign.
Santorum, according to a Politico report, huddled in Virginia today with top conservative activists including Richard Viguerie and Rebecca Hagelin to determine a way forward in the presidential race at a time when the delegate math looks daunting for the pro-life former Pennsylvania senator.
The former Pennsylvania senator personally met with a crew of longtime activists and consulted with others over the phone, sources said, as part of a late attempt to unify the right against Mitt Romney. Santorum campaign officials confirmed that the candidate consulted with conservative leaders after a trio of primary losses on Tuesday night sparked a wave of calls for him to exit the race.
Former Family Research Council chief Gary Bauer, who was present at the sit-down with Santorum, called it a 'strategy meeting to discuss how Sen. Santorum prevails." Ref. Source 2