Rick Santorum Announces He's Running for President

Santorum

Rick Santorum made his official entry into the race today. This represents a new milestone on the road toward Iowa: All six candidates who had formed exploratory committees have now officially announced they're running. As you can see from the Campaign Status page, they're also the only six in the race. (Michele Bachmann, however, is scheduled to appear at a primary debate this month.)

Santorum is something of a tragic figure in the 2012 Republican primary. He and Ron Paul have the lowest odds of winning the nomination. But unlike Paul, a libertarian gimmick candidate who runs merely to make a point, Santorum actually wants to win. Until his defeat in the rout of 2006, Santorum served continuously as either a U.S. House Rep or a U.S. Senator for sixteen years. And yet, almost no one takes him seriously.

Santorum's problem is that whatever strategy he may wish to employ, someone else is already doing it better than he is. If he wanted to cast himself as a Tea Party candidate, Herman Cain or Michele Bachmann already do it with more authenticity and grassroots enthusiasm. If Santorum wanted to play the role of the serious, electable statesman, Tim Pawlenty or Mitt Romney have him beat there, too. Wherever he turns, he is less conservative, or less electable, or less rhetorically gifted than his opponent.

The debate on May 5th, in which Santorum participated, provided a powerful illustration of his dire situation. Only four other candidates appeared, and Santorum still couldn't get any attention. Pawlenty and Cain were enough to drown him out. From there, the field only became more crowded.

Iowa is where Santorum's candidacy will fight and die. He will attempt to fill the niche of the social conservative, but several others will be doing the same thing, and better. It's not unlikely that Santorum will be the first announced candidate to drop out of the race. He may not even make it to the day of the Iowa Caucus.

News posts related to Santorum will have the Santorum "tag". For detailed assessment of Santorum's strengths, weaknesses, and strategy, view his Profile. Elephant Watcher calculates Santorum has a 0% chance of winning the nomination.