GOP Who's Who: Rick Santorum

The first four entries of this blog will serve as a “who’s who” in the race for the Republican nomination for President. The GOP candidates are Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum. After much deliberation on which order to profile the candidates, I decided to go in reverse alphabetical order (for absolutely no reason). I

First up, Rick Santorum.

Santorum has not been in public office since January of 2007, when his second term as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania ended. Before being a Senator, Santorum got his start in public office in 2000, at age 32, when he was elected to the House of Representatives. Since 2007 Santorum help two jobs in the media, as a columnist for the Philadelphia Enquirer and a commentator on Fox News. Santorum announced that he would be running for the Republican nomination on June 6, 2011.

According to the New York Times, Santorum will not have an easy time winning the GOP nomination, citing his lack of name recognition beyond Pennsylvania and his struggle to connect with independent voters as his biggest challenges.

His “staunchly conservative” voting record and views on the war in Iraq and same sex marriage have been highly scrutinized by both Republicans and Democrats.

I believe Santorum will have a hard time getting the support of socially liberal voters. His hard stance again same sex marriage will alienate people who want a candidate that is open minded on social issues. Santorum may also face an uphill battle with voters who are concerned with a candidate who does not currently serve in public office.

Photo from here.