Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who surprised many by winning the Iowa caucuses in 2012, may announce by spring whether he’ll run again in 2016,
according to The Washington Times. Santorum told the newspaper that he’s trying to raise money and will run an entirely different campaign this time around.
Here are eight facts about his personal life:
1. Santorum was born on May 10, 1958, in Winchester, Virginia, to Aldo Santorum, a psychologist, and Kay, a nurse. The family was Catholic and attended church regularly.
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2. He spent most of his childhood in the suburbs near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but graduated from an Illinois high school. He returned to Pennsylvania to get a bachelor’s degree in political science from Penn State in 1980. Santorum went on to the University of Pittsburgh, receiving his MBA one year later.
3. While in college, Santorum did volunteer work for Pennsylvania Sen. John Heinz's campaign. He also served as an administrative assistant to Republican state Sen. Doyle Corman while earning his law degree at Dickinson School of Law. He finished that degree in 1986.
4. In 2013,
Santorum wrote a column for TownHall.com about his young daughter Bella, who was diagnosed with trisomy 18, a severe genetic condition in which the child has an extra chromosome, is born underweight and has health issues that often lead to a shortened life. Only 1 in 10 such babies survive until their first birthday, he wrote.
5. Santorum has written two books. The first, “It Takes A Family,” a response to Hillary Clinton’s book “It Takes A Village,” was published in 2005. His second book, “Blue Collar Conservatives: Recommitting to an America That Works,” pondered the 2012 presidential election and detailed what the Republicans need to do to win the White House in 2016.
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