Former Pennsylvania Senator and two-time presidential hopeful Rick Santorum announced his endorsement of Dr. Mark Green for Congress Thursday.
“Mark Green has been a true champion for conservative values in the State Senate, and I’m confident he’ll bring that same much-needed leadership to Washington, Senator Santorum said in a statement. “Our country desperately needs bold conservative leadership, and Mark is the right man for the job.”
Rick Santorum is a longtime leader in the conservative movement since he burst into national political scene in 1991 with a surprise upset victory over Congressman Doug Walgren in a heavily-Democrat district in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. After serving two terms in the House, Santorum ran for and won a seat in the U.S. Senate as a part of the historic Republican takeover of both houses of Congress in 1994. His tenure was marked by several important votes, including voting against NAFTA; empowering schools to include theories of ‘intelligent design’ within ‘origin of life’ lessons; and defending enhanced interrogation techniques like waterboarding.
Santorum rose quickly through the Republican leadership, eventually attaining the 3rd highest-rank as the Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference. However, his plans in the Senate were cut short after a choppy 2006 election season that resulted in his ouster by the son of a popular Pennsylvania governor, Bob Casey, Jr.
After supporting Mitt Romney’s first run for the presidency in 2008, Santorum struck out on his own, coming in second in the delegate count for the Republican nomination in 2012. Along the way he won the support of Tennessee Republicans in the GOP primary, where Santorum earned a commanding 37% of the vote in what was then a nine-way contest.
During the outsider-versus-insider 2016 election cycle, Santorum’s second run for the presidency failed to gain any kind of meaningful traction, and he withdrew in February of that tumultuous year, initially endorsing Marco Rubio. He wisely eschewed the ‘Never-Trumpers’ and after Rubio’s inevitable withdrawal, Santorum endorsed the front-running Donald Trump after a widely-covered ‘heart to heart’ in May 2016.
“I’m 100%,” he said to TheHill.com, adding, “The most important issue is preserving the Constitution of this country, and a liberal Supreme Court will destroy it.”
For the 2018 election cycle, Santorum appears to be moving from candidate to kingmaker, issuing endorsements for state and national offices including Mike DeWine for Ohio’s governor; as well as working behind-the-scenes to repeal Obamacare.
“I’m grateful to Senator Santorum for his endorsement,” Senator Green said.
“Widely respected by conservatives throughout Tennessee, his leadership in the Senate for the least vulnerable among us continues to inspire me. As a 100% pro-life physician, I will keep fighting that fight for life in Congress,” he added.
State Senator Mark Green is a medical doctor, West Point graduate, and a career military veteran with a distinguished record of service. He is an outspoken advocate for limited government, secure borders, and fiscal responsibility, and was most recently honored by the Center for Security Policy for his tireless efforts to protect Tennesseans from terrorism.
