warning Hi, we've moved to USCANNENBERGMEDIA.COM. Visit us there!

Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

Rick Santorum Forms Presidential Exploratory Committee

Tracy Bloom |
April 14, 2011 | 7:54 p.m. PDT

Executive Producer

Rick Santorum (photo courtesy Gage Skidmore via flickr)
Rick Santorum (photo courtesy Gage Skidmore via flickr)
Another Republican has tossed their name into the hat of potential 2012 GOP presidential contenders. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum announced late Wednesday he was forming a presidential exploratory committee, the first step towards announcing a possible White House run.

"I've been out traveling the country. I've been to 25 states over the past year, spending a lot of extra time in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada now, and I've gotten a lot of great feedback from people, a lot of encouragement," Santorum said.

The New York Times reported: "Mr. Santorum has been aggressively reaching out to social conservatives in early voting states. He received an initial showing of support by winning a straw poll last week at a Republican convention in Greenville County, the largest county in South Carolina."

"I feel like we've got a good, strong presence on the ground, and now really the test for me is whether we can raise the money that's necessary," Santorum said.

Other viable Republican candidates who have formed exploratory committees include former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlnety and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Other possible GOP candidates include former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and real estate mogul Donald Trump.

Santorum is considered somewhat of a long shot candidate.  According to Fox News: "Santorum -- a social conservative who hopes to makes inroads with evangelicals in the leadoff state of Iowa -- is a dark horse candidate for the nomination, trailing better-known potential candidates such as Romney, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in the polls."

The latest CNN/Opinion Research poll released Tuesday had Santorum at the bottom of the pack with just two percent of respondents supporting his candidacy.

Santorum served in the United States Senate for two terms before Democrat Bob Casey soundly defeated him in 2006. More recently, he was an analyst for Fox News. Santorum--along with fellow analyst Gingrich--was suspended last month by the cable news channel because of his possible presidential run.



 

Buzz

Craig Gillespie directed this true story about "the most daring rescue mission in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard.”

Watch USC Annenberg Media's live State of the Union recap and analysis here.