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 Santorum, 57, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, emphasized
his working-class roots as he formally opened his long-shot 2016
presidential bid near his childhood home in Cabot, in western
Pennsylvania.
Looking to build support beyond the social and religious
conservatives who bolstered his 2012 campaign, Santorum said "big
government" and "big business" had left behind American workers.
"Today is the day we are going to begin to fight back," he said. "As
middle America's hollowing out we can't sit idly by. Working
families don't need another president tied to big government or big
money."
Santorum promised to eliminate the Internal Revenue Service, back a
flat tax and crack down on illegal immigration that he says has
robbed jobs from American workers. He also vowed to cut federal
spending and revoke "every executive order and regulation that costs
Americans jobs."
In the 2012 race, Santorum won Iowa's kickoff contest and 10 other
state contests with strong support from voters drawn to his social
and religious conservatism and wary of the more business-oriented
Mitt Romney.
Santorum outlasted other White House hopefuls to become the last
remaining challenger to Romney, who ultimately captured the 2012
Republican nomination.
Santorum, whose support has languished in the low single digits in
most polls ahead of the 2016 race, faces a stronger and potentially
tougher field of Republican hopefuls this time.
He is the seventh Republican to formally declare a bid for the
nomination, more than a year ahead of the November 2016 presidential
election, joining a group that includes U.S. Senators Marco Rubio,
Rand Paul and Ted Cruz. Other Republicans expected to jump into the
race include former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Governor
Scott Walker.
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Santorum will face competition for Christian conservative voters,
who helped propel his 2012 bid, from former Arkansas Governor Mike
Huckabee, Cruz and others, while his low poll ratings raise the
possibility that he could be excluded from the early Republican
debates, which begin in August.
"I know what it's like to be an underdog," Santorum said, adding he
managed to win 11 state nominating contests because "I stand for
someone, the American worker."
"The last race, we changed the debate. This race, with your help and
God's grace, we can change the nation," he said.
A Catholic, Santorum won a reputation as a strong social
conservative in Congress, where he opposed same-sex marriage and the
teaching of evolution in schools. He infuriated the gay community by
comparing homosexuality to bestiality.
(Writing by John Whitesides; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey;
Editing by Will Dunham, Bill Trott, Lisa Von Ahn and Leslie Adler)
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