Rick Santorum

American politician and commentator (born 1958)

Richard John "Rick" Santorum (born May 10, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician. He served as the United States senator of Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2007. He ran for President of the United States in 2012 and in 2016.

Rick Santorum
Chair of the Senate Republican Conference
In office
January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2007
LeaderTrent Lott
Bill Frist
Preceded byConnie Mack III
Succeeded byJon Kyl
United States Senator
from Pennsylvania
In office
January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2007
Preceded byHarris Wofford
Succeeded byBob Casey Jr.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 18th district
In office
January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1995
Preceded byDoug Walgren
Succeeded byMike Doyle
Personal details
Born
Richard John Santorum

(1958-05-10) May 10, 1958 (age 66)
Winchester, Virginia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Karen Garver
(m. 1990)
Children8
EducationPennsylvania State University, University Park (BA)
University of Pittsburgh (MBA)
Dickinson School of Law (JD)
Signature
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life

change

Santorum was born in Winchester, Virginia. He is of Italian American descent.[1][2][3] He was raised in West Virginia, Butler, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. He went to college and to law school at Penn State University. Soon after, he became a lawyer in Pittsburgh.

U.S. senate (1995-2007)

change

Santorum served in the House of Representatives from 1991 to 1995. With the 1994 elections that elected many Republicans, he was elected to the United States Senate. He served in the Senate for two terms, from 1995 to 2007. In the Senate, Santorum was known for having very conservative views about abortion and gay marriage.[4] Santorum lost in the 2006 election for a third term as a Senator to State Treasurer Bob Casey, Jr and C. Richard Semple II. After being in the Senate, he worked in a think tank and for Fox News.

2012 presidential campaign

change

In 2011 and 2012, Santorum ran for President of the United States in the Republican primaries. He based his campaign on social issues. He dropped out of the race in 2012. Today, Santorum writes a political column for the conservative news website World Net Daily.

2016 presidential campaign

change

Santorum announced his candidacy for the 2016 presidential election on May 27, 2015.[5] He dropped out of the race on February 3, 2016 after poor polling numbers and loosing the Iowa caucuses.[6] He later announced his endorsement for Marco Rubio.[7]

Personal life

change

Santorum married Karen Garver in 1990. Together, they have seven children.

References

change
  1. "Santorum genealogy". Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com. Retrieved June 18, 2010.
  2. "The Senator's Biography". Santorum's Senate website. Archived from the original on December 30, 2006. Retrieved December 30, 2006.
  3. The Pennsylvania Manual. Department of General Services. 1997.
  4. Loughlin, Sean (April 22, 2003). "Santorum under fire for comments on homosexuality". CNN. Retrieved March 13, 2008.
  5. Rick Santorum Announces New Presidential Bid, and New Focus on Middle Class - The New York Times
  6. "Reports: Rick Santorum ends long-shot GOP presidential bid". USA Today. February 3, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  7. "Rick Santorum Suspends Presidential Campaign, Endorses Marco Rubio". Huffington Post.com. February 3, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.

Other websites

change