Rick Santorum, who pulled out of the race for the White House Tuesday, emerged as an improbable leading contender for the Republican nomination, with a faith-and-family message that caught fire with the party’s most conservative voters.
Even as he quit the rollercoaster Republican presidential race, he remained the candidate who seemed to stir more emotions than most, with his radical views on religion, women and marriage. His dark horse presidential bid which turned into a surprisingly strong challenge to frontrunner Mitt Romney, long considered the frontrunner but who faced a succession of challengers — most recently and perhaps most persistently Santorum — nipping at his heels. “This presidential race is over for me,” the former US senator told a crowd at a hastily convened press conference in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Santorum now leaves a clear path to the nomination for the former Massachusetts governor, who is all but assured of locking up the Republican party’s nomination to challenge President Barack Obama in November. Despite his staid knitted sweater vest and easy boyish smile, Santorum was given to passionate outbursts when he talked about God and country which endeared him to right-wing conservatives. But those same strong conservative views, born from his Catholic faith, are giving many pause as Republicans struggle to coalesce around one candidate to take on Democrat President Barack Obama in the November elections. The 53-year-old former Pennsylvania senator was a virtual unknown when he first threw his hat into the ring in June last year to be the Republican Party’s nominee.
Despite being written off early on, Santorum built his campaign state-by-state — a David and Goliath struggle against a Mitt Romney juggernaut powered by a huge war chest and a solid organizational machine. But he faced the ignominious prospect of possible defeat in his home state of Pennsylvania, which is due to hold its presidential primary on April 24, after openly declaring on several occasions that it was a “must-win” election contest for his foundering campaign.
