Santorum, Richard John (1958-…), was a member of the United States Senate from 1995 to 2007. Santorum, a Republican, represented Pennsylvania. In the Senate, Santorum was a leader in pushing for passage of a bill to greatly revise the federal welfare system. President Bill Clinton signed a welfare bill into law in 1996.
Santorum, usually called Rick, was born in Winchester, Virginia, on May 10, 1958. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University in 1980 and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1981. From 1981 to 1986, Santorum served as an administrative assistant to J. Doyle Corman, a Pennsylvania state senator. In 1986, Santorum received a law degree from Dickinson School of Law. He worked as a lawyer at a Pittsburgh law firm from 1986 to 1990.
In 1990, Santorum was elected to the United States House of Representatives. He was reelected in 1992. In 1994, he was elected to his first term as a U.S. senator, and he took office in 1995. He was reelected in 2000. As a senator, Santorum became known for his conservative positions on such social issues as abortion and same-sex marriage. In November 2006, Santorum lost a bid for reelection to Democrat Robert P. Casey, Jr., the Pennsylvania state treasurer.
In 2011, Santorum began a campaign for the 2012 Republican nomination for president. He dropped out of the race in April 2012, however, after Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney opened up a large lead in the race for delegates. In 2013, Santorum became the chief executive officer of a film production company that featured Christian, family-friendly content. In 2015, Santorum began a campaign for the 2016 Republican nomination for president. He dropped out of the race in February 2016 after finishing poorly in the Iowa caucuses. He later worked as a political commentator for television news programs.
