Rick Santorum Bio
Richard John Santorum Sr. (born May 10, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, author, and political commentator who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1995 to 2007. A conservative Republican, Santorum served as the Senate Republican Conference chairman and was the chamber’s third-ranking Republican for six years. He previously served in the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 1995.
After leaving the Senate, Santorum worked as a lawyer, consultant, and news contributor. He mounted presidential campaigns in 2012 and 2016, winning multiple primaries in 2012 and finishing as the Republican runner-up. He is known for his social conservatism, opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage, and advocacy for family-centered policy.
Early Life and Background
Richard John Santorum Sr. was born on May 10, 1958, in Winchester, Virginia, to Aldo Santorum and Catherine (Dughi) Santorum. His father had immigrated to the United States from Italy, an experience Santorum has cited when discussing immigration policy. He grew up in a nominally Catholic household and spent part of his childhood attending Butler Senior High School and Carmel High School.
Santorum went on to attend Pennsylvania State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. He later received a Master of Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh and a Juris Doctor from the Dickinson School of Law. His grandfather’s nickname, “Rooster,” reportedly inspired a family nickname that has followed him in some circles.
Path to Politics
Santorum first became actively involved in politics in the 1970s through volunteering for Senator John Heinz, a Pennsylvania Republican whose seat Santorum would later occupy. While in law school, he served as an administrative assistant to Republican state senator Doyle Corman, working as executive director of the Pennsylvania Senate Local Government Committee from 1981 to 1984 and later of the Senate Transportation Committee.
After graduating, Santorum was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar and practiced law for four years at the Pittsburgh firm Kirkpatrick and Lockhart (now part of K and L Gates). As an associate, he successfully lobbied on behalf of the World Wrestling Federation to deregulate professional wrestling. He left private practice in 1990 after winning election to the United States House of Representatives.
Rick Santorum Career
Early Career (1991–1994)
Santorum was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1990 and served the 18th Congressional District of Pennsylvania from 1991 to 1995. During his House tenure, he built a reputation as a rising conservative voice and received solid marks from fiscal conservative organizations for his voting record.
In 1994, during the Republican wave election, Santorum was elected to the United States Senate, narrowly defeating incumbent Democrat Harris Wofford, 49 percent to 47 percent. His campaign signs carried the theme “Join the Fight!” and he was considered an underdog against an opponent 32 years his senior.
Senate Tenure (1995–2007)
During his first term, Santorum served as chairman of the Republican Party Task Force on Welfare Reform in 1996 and contributed to legislation that became the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, of which he was an author and floor manager. He was reelected in 2000, defeating U.S. congressman Ron Klink by a 52 percent to 46 percent margin.
From 2001 until 2007, Santorum served as the Senate’s third-ranking Republican as chairman of the Senate Republican Conference. He was a lead sponsor of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, which President George W. Bush signed into law in November 2003 and which the Supreme Court upheld in the 2007 decision Gonzales v. Carhart. He also sponsored the Santorum Amendment, which would have promoted the teaching of intelligent design, and authored the Iran Freedom and Support Act of 2005.
Post-Senate and 2012 Presidential Campaign
After losing his 2006 reelection bid to Democrat Bob Casey Jr. by a 59 percent to 41 percent margin, Santorum worked as a consultant and private practice lawyer. In June 2011, he entered the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Exceeding expectations, he won 11 primaries and caucuses and received nearly four million votes before suspending his campaign on April 10, 2012, finishing as the runner-up to eventual nominee Mitt Romney.
Patriot Voices and 2016 Campaign
In June 2012, Santorum launched Patriot Voices, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit with a mission to mobilize conservatives promoting faith, family, freedom, and opportunity. The organization supported candidates including Ted Cruz and Richard Mourdock in their Republican primaries. Santorum ran for president again in 2016 but ended his campaign in February 2016 after a poor showing in the Iowa caucuses. In January 2017, he became a CNN senior political commentator and was later terminated from his contract in May 2021.
Notable Events and Milestones
Santorum’s signature legislative achievement was the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, and he was a leading voice in the national debate over social issues. In 2012, he won 11 Republican contests and finished second in the presidential primary, a stronger-than-expected showing that defined his post-Senate political identity. In August 2021, he became a Senior Advisor to the Convention of States Project of Citizens for Self-Governance.
Rick Santorum Career Wins
Throughout his political career, Rick Santorum compiled a record of three federal election victories: his 1990 House win, his 1994 Senate upset, and his 2000 Senate reelection.
Federal Election Highlights
Santorum first won federal office in 1990 when he was elected to represent Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District in the House. Two years after redistricting, he captured the Senate seat in 1994 by defeating Harris Wofford, and he successfully defended that seat in 2000 against Ron Klink. His 2006 reelection bid ended in a 41 percent to 59 percent loss to Bob Casey Jr.
2012 Republican Primary Wins
During the 2012 Republican presidential primaries, Santorum won 11 contests, including the Iowa caucuses, and primaries in Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. These victories established him as the principal conservative alternative to Mitt Romney before he suspended his campaign in April 2012.
Rick Santorum Family
Family Background and Political Lineage
Santorum was raised in a Catholic family with Italian heritage on his father’s side. His father, Aldo Santorum, had immigrated to the United States from Italy, and Santorum has often pointed to that experience when discussing lawful immigration. His mother, Catherine (Dughi) Santorum, completed the immediate family in which he was raised.
Personal Life
Santorum met his future wife, Karen Garver, while she was a neonatal nurse studying law at the University of Pittsburgh and he was recruiting summer interns for Kirkpatrick and Lockhart. They married in 1990 and have seven living children. Their son Gabriel was born prematurely in 1996 and died in the hospital two hours later, an experience that shaped Santorum’s public advocacy for family-centered policy. Their daughter Isabella, who has the rare genetic condition Trisomy 18, became the subject of Santorum’s 2015 book Bella’s Gift. Santorum and his wife live in Great Falls, Virginia.