Who is Rick Santorum? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Richard John Santorum

Age: 65 Years, 65 Year Old Males

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Karen Garver (1990–present)

father: Aldo Santorum

mother: Catherine (Dughi) Santorum

Political Leaders American Men

Height: 6'3" (190 cm), 6'3" Males

U.S. State: Virginia

Ancestry: Irish American, Italian American

Notable Alumni: Dickinson School Of Law, Pennsylvania State University, University Park

Ideology: Republicans

More Facts

education: University Of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Dickinson School Of Law

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Childhood & Early Life

Richard 'Rick' John Santorum was born on May 10, 1958 in Winchester, Virginia to Catherine Santorum, an administrative nurse and Aldo Santorum, a clinical psychologist and also Irish immigrants.

He was the second of three children in a Catholic family who attended Church regularly. He grew up in West Virginia and Pennsylvania where he attended Catholic schools and graduated school from Illinois when his parents transferred there.

Santorum graduated in 1980 with an honors degree in political science from Pennsylvania State University.

He then completed a one year MBA program from University of Pittsburgh's Joseph M Katz Graduate School of Business, graduating in 1981.

He also holds a JD degree with honors from Dickinson School of Law achieved by him in 1986.

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Career

Santorum’s first foray into politics was by volunteering for Senator John Heinz, a Republican from Pennsylvania, in the 1970s. He was also an administrative assistant to Republican State Senator Doyle Corman while working on his law degree during the years 1981 to 1984.

After graduating, he was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar and practiced law for four years at the Pittsburgh law firm Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, a firm known for raising lobbyists and political candidates. Santorum left his private law practice in 1990, after his election to the House of Representatives.

Santorum was elected to the U.S House of Representatives to represent Pennsylvania in 1990, at the age of 32.He ended up defeating seven-term Democratic congressman Doug Walgren by a significant margin. Santorum’s strategy of repeatedly criticizing Walgren for living outside the district for most of the year during his campaign was successful in earning him the votes of the community.

In 1992 though the 18th district was redrawn for the elections, Santorum still won the re-election with a heavy vote, even though the district had a 3:1 ratio of Democrats to Republicans.

In 1994, he won the election to the U.S Senate at the age of 36,again knocking out a Democratic congressman,Harris Wofford. He was re-elected in 2000,defeating U.S Congressman Ron Klink by 52-46% margin. In his re-election of 2006,he lost to Democrat Bob Casey Jr. by a 59-41% margin.

He maintained a low profile on the national political scene after his loss in the elections of 2006 and returned to his work as lawyer and became a contributor to the conservative Fox News Cable Network.

In 2011, Santorum reemerged as a potential 2012 presidential candidate. During the 2012 race for the Republican nomination,Santorum positioned himself as the "consistent conservative" in opposition to Mitt Romney, who was seen as far too liberal by some Republicans. He pulled out of the race when he received votes from several states except Pennsylvania.

In 2015, he announced his second presidential bid and launched his campaign from a factory, vowing he would fight for the middle class. As the race progressed he found his messages in the campaign to be eclipsed by the likes of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.He suspended his campaign after the Iowa Caucus in February 2016, in which Cruz and Trump finished 1-2.

He returned to work as a private practice lawyer and also as a CNN political commentator.

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Major Works

Rick Santorum was elected to the U.S House of Representatives to represent Pennsylvania in 1990 at age 32 by defeating seven-term Democratic congressman Doug Walgren.

In 1993, he was one of the 17 House Republicans who sided with most Democrats to support the legislation that prohibited employers from permanently replacing striking employees.

As a member of Gang of Seven he was also involved in exposing members of Congress involved in house banking scandal.

He was elected to the U.S Senate in 1994 at age 36 by defeating Democratic congressman Harris Wofford by a narrow margin even though he was considered an underdog in this election as Harris was 32 years his senior.

From 2001-2007 he was the Senate's third ranking Republican.

Awards & Achievements

Santorum has written four books. In his book 'It Takes a Family' he argues that traditional family is the foundation of society. He criticizes the "big"-"big government, big media, big entertainment, big universities". The book became a New York Times Bestseller.

Personal Life

Santorum’s met his wife, Karen Garver, as one of the applicants he was recruiting as summer interns for his law firm. She was then studying law at the University of Pittsburgh.

The couple married in 1990 and they have seven children. His son, Gabriel, born 1996, prematurely died at the hospital two hours after birth and his daughter Isabella, born 2008, was diagnosed with Edwards Syndrome, a genetic disorder with only 10% chance of survival past one year old. He suspended his 2012 presidential campaign after her second hospitalization.

He became the center of controversy in 2003 when he was quoted in an interview comparing consensual homosexual relationships to abusive "man on child, man on dog" sex.

During his second term in the Senate he became embroiled in a controversy over his legal residence. Though officially residing in Pennsylvania the family spent most of their time in Virginia where his children were enrolled in a cyber-school paid for at taxpayers' expense. In 2004, the school board determined students were not legal residents and asked Santorum to pay district cost for their education. The fight dragged on till 2006 thus damaging his reelection chances to Senate on basis of abandoning his constituency.

Trivia

He was nicknamed "Rooster" supposedly for his strand of hair and an assertive nature, particularly on political issues.

In his free time, he is an avid fantasy baseball player.

Rick Santorum Biography