Former U.S. Senator and runner-up in the race for the Republican Party’s nomination for president in 2012.
A Pennsylvania native, Santorum was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1990 after defeating a seven-term incumbent Democrat. He served in the U.S. House until 1995 when he was elected to the U.S. Senate. Santorum served as the Chair of the Senate Republican Conference from 2001 to 2007.
During his service in Congress, Santorum was a highly effective conservative reformer. He was a member of the “Gang of Seven” that exposed the Congressional Banking and Congressional Post Office scandals in 1992 and helped fuel the Republican Revolution of 1994. Santorum was an author and floor manager of the landmark Welfare Reform Act of 1996 and championed several pro-life bills. Santorum also backed a balanced budget, a line-item veto and proposed reforming our unsustainable entitlement programs.
A prominent social and economic conservative, Santorum continues to play a leading role in public policy debates, including health care reform and energy.
Santorum has authored four books including It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good (2005), American Patriots: Answering the Call to Freedom (2012), Blue Collar Conservatives: Recommitting to an America That Works (2014), and Bella’s Gift: How One Little Girl Transformed Our Family and Inspired a Nation (2015; with Karen Santorum and Elizabeth Santorum).
Santorum lives in Great Falls, Virginia with his wife Karen and their seven children where he enjoys growing fruit trees and tending bees.
