How long has santorum been in politics

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In addition to unsuccessfully running for president in , he's also authored several books, including one about his daughter, and runs a small Christian movie studio. What he used to do: Santorum, 57, served as a U. He became the third highest-ranking Republican in the Senate in , when he was elected chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, a position he held for six years.

He ran for president in , winning primaries and caucuses in 11 states before losing the Republican nomination to Mitt Romney. In his own words: "I'll offer a bold vision for America, one that is clear and conservative that has plans for reform and a proven track record from my time in service.

He was born in in Winchester, Virginia, but grew up mainly outside Pittsburgh. A hard-working door-to-door campaigner, he energized his conservative and evangelical base and won over blue-collar voters by securing federal funds that brought construction jobs.

Santorum also benefited from weak Democratic opponents and national trends that dovetailed with his anti-tax and pro-life message. Pennsylvanians who worked on those campaigns recall his off-the-cuff style as well as his love of question-and-answer sessions in which he would eagerly talk about a broad range of issues. His advisers say he often came up with the topics of his speeches on the way to the venue. Graphic showing Santorum's campaigns: link.

Video on Santorum's focus heading into Ohio race: link. Pennsylvania has backed the Democratic candidate for president in every race since , while voters tend to be more conservative in statewide races. In , Rick Santorum, then a year-old attorney, set his sights on a U. Republican leaders and friends tried to persuade Santorum to run instead for a relatively safe Pennsylvania house seat in Harrisburg.

He told friends that Walgren was too liberal for the district and that a conservative could win. Santorum went all in. He quit his job and convinced his soon-to-be wife to quit hers and hit the campaign trail.

Ron Klink, a Pittsburgh television reporter who would later go into politics as a Democrat and would lose the Senate race to Santorum, remembers Santorum standing on a bridge leading into downtown Pittsburgh, waving his campaign sign at passing cars. Schmidt says Santorum was involved in all aspects of campaigning. He wore out three pairs of shoes criss-crossing the congressional district, says Schmidt.