Rick
Santorum, a Republican Party presidential candidate and winner of the 2012 Iowa
caucuses, visited CCU on February 1, holding a press conference to announce new
endorsements in his race for office. Santorum, who announced his candidacy for
president in June 2011, was endorsed by many respected Colorado leaders,
including former Lt. Governor Jane Norton; former Congressman Bob Schaffer;
former Congressman Tom Tancredo, Weld County Commissioner Sean Conway; and
Colorado State Senator Scott Renfroe.
At the press conference,
Santorum encouraged attendees to cast their votes during the Colorado caucuses
based on principle rather than statistics, reminding voters that, "The race is
just beginning...you need 1140 [votes] before this thing is over." An underdog
in the GOP presidential race, Santorum reminded voters of his political past as
a consistently conservative representative. He told voters that money and
organization would not win the race, but rather ideas and principles.
Born May 10, 1958, Santorum has been involved in politics and law since he was
only 32 years old. He served as a lawyer, practicing law for four years in
Pittsburgh before becoming a U.S. Congressman in 1991, and then U.S. Senator in
1994. Santorum served as the youngest member of the Senate leadership and the
first Pennsylvanian to hold such a prominent position since the 1970s.
Though Colorado Christian University and the
Centennial Institute (CCU's public
policy think tank) may not endorse any candidate, John Andrews, Director of the
Centennial Institute, spoke for the University, saying that they were honored
to be able to host Santorum and deeply hoped that candidates of his moral
stature and integrity would see success.