WASHINGTON (AP) – He exceeded the political world’s expectations by scoring a second-place finish in the race for the Republican presidential nomination four years ago. Yet as he readies a second White House run, Rick Santorum may struggle even to qualify for the debate stage in 2016.
An aggressive advocate for conservative family values, the 57-year-old Republican is announcing his presidential intentions on Wednesday. He is all but certain to enter the contest – one that would test his clout in a dramatically different presidential field.
The former Pennsylvania senator planned to make his announcement surrounded by factory workers on the floor of a thriving business near his western Pennsylvania hometown, a carefully scripted setting designed to showcase his focus on the working class. A major player in 2012, he opens this political season almost as an afterthought in a 2016 race expected to feature more than a dozen high-profile Republicans – most of them newcomers to presidential politics.
Santorum says his experience could pay dividends the second time around. Most of the GOP’s recent presidential nominees, Mitt Romney and President Ronald Reagan among them, needed more than one campaign to find success in the nomination race.
“This is a long process,” Santorum told reporters recently. “One of the things that I feel very comfortable with – I’ve been through this process before.” He said it’s a “completely wide open race.”