Rick Santorum

Born: May 10, 1958, in Winchester, Va.

Home: Penn Hills

Education: B.A., Pennsylvania State University, 1980; M.B.A., Pennsylvania State University, 1981; J.D., Dickinson Law School, 1986

Religion: Catholic

Military Experience: none

Family: Wife: Karen; children: Elizabeth, John, Daniel, Sarah Maria, Peter, Patrick, and Isabella

Professional Career: U.S. senator, 1996-2006 | U.S. representative, 1990-1994 | Attorney, 1986-1990 | Executive Director, Pa. Senate Transportation Committee, 1984-1986 | Executive Director, Pa. Senate Local Government Committee, 1981-1984 | Administrative Assistant, Pa. Senate. J. Doyle, 1981-1986

NEED TO KNOW: SANTORUM

CAMPAIGN 2012 March 19, 2012

Santorum's Mystery Kitchen Cabinet: Who Advises Him Besides Himself?

By Naureen Khan

Meet Rick Santorum’s most influential policy adviser: Rick Santorum. Read more »

ELECTION ANALYSIS March 16, 2012

Santorum's Progress in GOP Race is Historic

By Alex Roarty

Dual victories in Alabama and Mississippi this week don’t change the fact Rick Santorum remains an underdog in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. But his candidacy is already historically significant. As Ralph Reed, a longtime GOP strategist and the chair of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, pointed out to National Journal, Santorum has already won more contests—10—than any challenger to the GOP establishment since conservative icon Ronald Reagan in 1976. “It is an impressive feat,” Reed said. Reagan piled up victories in 11 primaries in 1976 and deprived President Ford of enough delegates to win the nomination outright. Ford prevailed at the convention but lost the general election. Four years later, Reagan won the nomination and the presidency. Read more »

CAMPAIGN 2012 March 15, 2012

Santorum Doubles Down on English Requirement as Puerto Ricans Push Back

By Rebecca Kaplan

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum doubled down on Thursday on his statement that Puerto Ricans need to speak English before their island territory can become a state. He said that English needs to be “spoken universally” and should be a condition of statehood. Read more »

CAMPAIGN 2012 March 5, 2012

The Santorums: Their Evolution as Culture Warriors

By Naureen Khan

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum began his career in Congress as a middle-of-the-road Republican, but his marriage and family life have propelled him increasingly to the right. Read more »

SUNDAY SHOWS March 4, 2012

Santorum Backs Down After Criticizing Obama on Education

By Alexandra Jaffe

Rick Santorum, who spent days attacking President Obama’s higher education policies and called him a “snob, ” said on Sunday he may have mischaracterized the president’s position and that, with a new understanding of Obama’s statements, he agrees with him. Read more »

CAMPAIGN 2012 March 3, 2012

Romney Seizes on Santorum's Organizational Deficiencies

By Sarah B. Boxer

DAYTON, Ohio – Mitt Romney’s campaign wasted no time on Saturday in making clear it regards Rick Santorum’s organizational problems as a way to gain ground on its bitter rival in Ohio as well as in other critical Super Tuesday states. Read more »

CAMPAIGN 2012 February 29, 2012

Can Santorum Broaden His Base?

By Naureen Khan

Rick Santorum may be tempted to take a victory lap after limiting Mitt Romney to a narrow win in his own home state of Michigan in Tuesday's presidential primary — but the former Pennsylvania senator should keep it short. Read more »

CAMPAIGN 2012 February 27, 2012

Santorum Argues For Religion in Government

By Rebecca Kaplan

On the eve of the Michigan primary, the Republican presidential candidate sharpens his rhetoric about a more active role for religion in policy debates. Read more »

CAMPAIGN 2012 February 27, 2012

Santorum Robocall Urges Democrats to Vote in GOP Primary

By Rebecca Kaplan

The former senator’s campaign for president launched robocalls on the eve of the Michigan primary that encourage Democrats to vote for Rick Santorum in order to punish rival Mitt Romney for his opposition to the auto industry bailouts, even though Santorum also opposed the auto bailouts. Read more »

2012 Decoded February 26, 2012

The Republican War of Words on College

By Jill Lawrence

First came Mitt Romney's dismissive remarks about President Obama's "faculty lounge" pals. Now Rick Santorum is calling Obama snobby for urging people to go to college - and defending that view in a series of TV appearances. Read more »

SUNDAY SHOWS February 26, 2012

Santorum: No Absolute Separation of Church and State

By Chris Frates and Alexandra Jaffe

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum on Sunday said the Founding Fathers did not intend for an absolute separation of church and state, and he defended a statement he made last fall that after reading John F. Kennedy’s now-famous 1960 speech on religion, he “almost threw up.” Read more »

CAMPAIGN 2012 February 25, 2012

Santorum Again Relates Food Stamps to Minorities

By Lindsey Boerma

Speaking to a conservative crowd in Michigan, the Republican presidential candidate says he’ll give minorities jobs, not government dependency. Later in the day, he describes liberal tyranny in education, media and Hollywood. Read more »

CAMPAIGN 2012 February 21, 2012

Santorum: Satan Comments in 2008 'Not Relevant' Today

By Rebecca Kaplan

Asked about a speech he gave three years ago, the Republican presidential candidate says, “I believe in good and evil”--and staying on message. Read more »

CAMPAIGN 2012 February 20, 2012

Santorum: Climate Science is 'Political Science'

By Rebecca Kaplan

The Republican presidential candidate claims working class roots through his coal-miner grandfather and says climate change science is “political science.” Read more »