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Rick Santorum
Biographical Information
Candidate Profile
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum has made a name for himself as a strict social conservative. He attributes the development of his beliefs to his upbringing in western Pennsylvania, where he was raised by his mother and his father, an Italian immigrant.
He started out in politics while attending Pennsylvania State University, when he served as a campaign volunteer for Republican Sen. John Heinz. After working as a lawyer, Santorum was elected to the House of Representatives in 1990 at the age of 32.
In 1994, he was elected to the Senate. In 2000, he was elected chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, making him the youngest member of the Senate leadership. Santorum became a vocal opponent of abortion rights, introducing in the Senate the 2003 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban, as well as the 2002 Born-Alive Infants Protection Act and the 2004 Unborn Victims of Violence Act.
Santorum is also known for his fiscal conservatism -- he guided the 1996 Welfare Reform Act through Congress as chairman of the Republican Party Task Force on Welfare Reform -- as well as for his strong support of Israel.
He's also drawn attention for his views on homosexuality. Santorum's positions have drawn the ire of gay rights advocates, spurring syndicated columnist Dan Savage to use the name "Santorum" as a lewd term. The term still haunts Santorum on Google.
Santorum was soundly defeated in his 2006 re-election bid by Democratic candidate Bob Casey, Jr.
Rick Santorum
Biographical Information
- Birthday: May 10, 1958; Winchester, Frederick County, Va.
- Education: B.A., Pennsylvania State University 1980; M.B.A., University of Pittsburgh 1981; J.D., Dickinson School of Law (Pa.) 1986
- Military: None
- Family: Married (Karen Santorum); Seven children (Elizabeth, John, Daniel, Sarah Maria, Peter, Patrick and Isabella)
- Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pa.
- Religion: Roman Catholic
- Career Highlights: Senator, representing Pennsylvania, 1995-2007
- served as Republican Conference chairman in the Senate, 2001-2007
- Member, House of Representatives, 1991-1995
- administrative assistant to Pennsylvania State Senator J. Doyle Corman, 1981-1986
- Books authored: Rick Santorum: A Senator Speaks Out on Life, Freedom, and Responsibility, 2005
- It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good, 2005.
Candidate Profile
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum has made a name for himself as a strict social conservative. He attributes the development of his beliefs to his upbringing in western Pennsylvania, where he was raised by his mother and his father, an Italian immigrant.
He started out in politics while attending Pennsylvania State University, when he served as a campaign volunteer for Republican Sen. John Heinz. After working as a lawyer, Santorum was elected to the House of Representatives in 1990 at the age of 32.
In 1994, he was elected to the Senate. In 2000, he was elected chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, making him the youngest member of the Senate leadership. Santorum became a vocal opponent of abortion rights, introducing in the Senate the 2003 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban, as well as the 2002 Born-Alive Infants Protection Act and the 2004 Unborn Victims of Violence Act.
Santorum is also known for his fiscal conservatism -- he guided the 1996 Welfare Reform Act through Congress as chairman of the Republican Party Task Force on Welfare Reform -- as well as for his strong support of Israel.
He's also drawn attention for his views on homosexuality. Santorum's positions have drawn the ire of gay rights advocates, spurring syndicated columnist Dan Savage to use the name "Santorum" as a lewd term. The term still haunts Santorum on Google.
Santorum was soundly defeated in his 2006 re-election bid by Democratic candidate Bob Casey, Jr.
Jon Huntsman
Biographical Information
- Birthday: March 26, 1960, Palo Alto, California
- Education: B.A., University of Pennsylvania (Initially attended University of Utah)
- Military: None
- Family: Married (Mary Kaye Cooper), Seven children (Mary Anne, Abigail, Elizabeth, Jon III, William, Gracie Mei and Asha Bharati)
- Hometown: Salt Lake City, Utah
- Religion: Mormon
- Career Highlights: U.S. Ambassador to China under President Barack Obama, 2009-2011
- Governor of Utah, 2005-2009
- Deputy U.S. Trade Representative under President George W. Bush, 2001-2003
- U.S. Ambassador to Singapore under President George H.W. Bush, 1992-93
- Books authored: None
Candidate Profile
When President Obama tapped then-Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman to be the U.S. ambassador to China in 2009, it was widely seen in political circles as a savvy tactical move. The heir to the Huntsman chemical manufacturer and marketer was seen as a rising star in Republican politics, and, the thinking went, he would be formidable challenger to Mr. Obama in 2012. Sending him overseas would prevent a run.
Instead Huntsman quit his post earlier this year and then mounted a presidential run. But so far, he has been at the back of the pack in most polls. Huntsman is widely seen as too moderate for most Republican primary voters this season. The avid motorcyclist has also worked as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative for President George W. Bush and U.S. ambassador to Singapore for President George H.W. Bush.
Newt Gingrich
Biographical Information
- Birthday: June 17, 1943; Harrisburg, Pa as Newton Leroy McPherson
- Education: B.A., Emory University, MA/PhD Tulane University
- Military: None
- Family: Married (Callista Bisek Gingrich 2000-present), (Second wife: Marianne Ginther, 1981- 2000); (First wife Jackie Battley 1962-1981, Two children from first marriage: Kathy Gingrich Lubbers, Jackie Gingrich Cushman)
- Hometown: McLean, Va.
- Religion: Roman Catholic (raised Baptist)
- Career Highlights: Founder, Center for Health Transformation, American Solutions for Winning the Future
- Speaker of the House of Representatives 1995-1999
- House Minority Whip 1989-1995
- Member, House of Representatives 1979-1999
- Books authored: According to his campaign website, Gingrich is the author of twenty-three books, including thirteen New York Times bestsellers
Candidate Profile
A former speaker of the House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich is a heavyweight Republican politician He was the visionary who returned Republicans to power in the House in the 1994 elections after four decades in the minority. And his Contract with America defined Republican values and priorities in the policy battles he waged in the 1990s with President Bill Clinton over the size and scope of the U.S. government.
As a presidential candidate, Gingrich started as more of a lightweight than heavyweight. While his name held sway in Republican circles, his campaign struggled out of the gate and several of his top advisers departed in June after a dispute over campaign strategy. But as the voting nears, Gingrich has surged and is now among the top tier in the polls.
Ron Paul
Biographical Information
- Birthday: August 20, 1935; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Education: Gettysburg College, 1957; M.D., Duke University Medical Center, 1961
- Military: flight surgeon, United States Air Force, 1963-1965; United States Air National Guard, 1965-1968
- Family: Married (Carol Paul); Five children (Ronnie, Lori, Rand, Robert, Joy)
- Hometown: Lake Jackson, Texas
- Religion: Baptist
- Career Highlights:Medical doctor with a specialization in obstetrics/gynecology
Member, House of Represenatives; 1976-1977, 1979-1985, 1997- present
1988 Libertarian Party presidential candidate
2008 candidate for the Republican presidential nomination - Books authored: Liberty Defined: 50 Essential Issues That Affect Our Freedom (2011)
- End The Fed (2009)
- The Revolution: A Manifesto (2008)
- A Foreign Policy of Freedom: Peace, Commerce, and Honest Friendship (2007)
Candidate Profile
Texas Republican Ron Paul is well known for his strong libertarian views and strict interpretation of the Constitution. He has garnered a passionate group of supporters by sticking to his principles. In fact, he's been dubbed "Dr. No" because of his commitment to voting against any legislation unless he believes it has been expressly authorized by the Constitution. The nickname is also in reference to his medical degree.
Born in 1935 and raised in Pittsburgh, Paul graduated from Gettysburg College and the Duke University School of Medicine before serving as a flight surgeon in the Air Force in the 1960s. Paul and his wife Carol moved to Texas in 1968, where he opened his medical practice. Paul brags of having delivered more than 4,000 babies as a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology.
Paul cites his history as an obstetrician when explaining his anti-abortion views and professing his Christian beliefs. In spite of his religion and opposition to abortion, social conservatives are slow to back Paul because of the rest of his largely libertarian platform.
The Texan opposes the federal regulation of marriage and opposes the "war on drugs." He takes a strict anti-interventionist stance and voted against the 2002 Iraq War resolution. He is a fierce critic of the Federal Reserve and an advocate of the gold standard.
Paul's views have made him particularly popular among young Republicans and have helped him exploit new media to raise impressive amounts of cash and grassroots support for his campaigns. His brand of conservatism is often credited as the basis for the Tea Party and the Republican party's renewed focus on limited government spending. In spite of the enthusiasm of his core supporters, Paul earned only minimal support in the 2008 Republican primaries, leading some to question whether his views can appeal to the rest of the Republican party.
Rick Perry
Biographical Information
- Birthday: March 4, 1950; Paint Creek, Texas
- Education: B.S., Texas A&M University, 1972
- Military: Air Force, 1972-1977
- Family: Married (Anita Thigpen Perry), two children (Griffin and Sydney)
- Hometown: Paint Creek, Texas
- Religion: Evangelical Christian
- Career Highlights:Governor of Texas 2000-present
Republican Governors Association chairman, 2010-2011
Texas agriculture commissioner, 1991-1999
Texas state representative, 1985-1991 - Books authored:"Fed Up!: Our Fight to Save America from Washington" (2010)
- "On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts Are Worth Fighting for" (2008)
Candidate Profile
Rick Perry grew up in rural Paint Creek, Texas, the son of tenant farmers. He attended Texas A&M, where he was a popular figure on campus, becoming a "yell leader" - a prominent male cheerleader - and joining the ROTC-like Corps of Cadets. Lacking the grades for a veterinary degree, he graduated with a degree in animal science.
After graduation, Perry spent five years in the Air Force, where he attained the rank of captain. He left the military in 1977, returning to Texas to work with his father as a cotton farmer. In 1984, running as a Democrat, Perry was elected to the Texas House of Representatives. Five years later he would switch to the Republican Party, and in 1990 he was elected Agriculture Commissioner. After two terms, he was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1998, and assumed the governorship in 2001 with then-Governor George W. Bush resigned to become president.
Perry has served as governor ever since, becoming the longest serving governor in the state's history. An outspoken evangelical Christian, he opposes same-sex marriage and abortion rights and advocates intelligent design be taught in schools. He called on Texans to pray for rain to address the state's devastating droughts and the wildfires they created.
Though he has accepted federal stimulus money, Perry is a strong proponent of states rights, at one point suggesting Texas might have to secede from the union. His presidential bid is grounded in his appear to social and fiscal conservatives and in the fact that Texas has in recent years overwhelmingly led the nation in job creation - though detractors point out that many of those jobs are low wage and driven by the state's population growth.
As chairman of the Republican Governor's Association, Perry has been able to build a national fundraising base to augment his Texas network, making him the second most potent fundraiser in the GOP field, next to Mitt Romney.
Mitt Romney
Biographical Information
- Birthday: March 12, 1947; Detroit, Mich.
- Education: B.S., Brigham Young University, 1971; MBA/JD, Harvard Business School, 1975
- Military: None
- Family: Married (Anne Romney), Five children (Tag, Matt, Josh, Ben and Craig)
- Hometown: Belmont, Mass.
- Religion: Mormon
- Career Highlights: Governor of Mass. 2003-2007
President, Salt Lake Olympics Organizing Committee, 1999-2002
CEO, Bain and Company, 1994-1999
Founder, Bain Capital 1984-90 - Books authored:"Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games" (2004)
- No Apology: Believe in America (2011)
Candidate Profile
Mitt Romney grew up in Detroit, the son of auto executive and Michigan governor George Romney. After attending private school in suburban Detroit, Romney spent one year at Stanford University before spending 30 months in France as a Mormon missionary. Romney, whose deferments and high draft number kept him out of the Vietnam War, attended Brigham Young University upon his return; he and his wife had their first son, Tagg, while he was an undergraduate. Romney went on to get a joint law and business degree from Harvard, and became a management consultant upon graduation in 1975.
Romney would spend the following years as a management consultant before co-founding private equity firm Bain Capital. The firm would acquire or invest in companies, often helping create jobs at these companies but sometimes cutting them. In 1994, Romney tried and failed to unseat Ted Kennedy as Massachusetts senator. In 1999, he left the business world to become CEO of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games, which he was widely credited with turning around.
Romney was elected Massachusetts governor in 2002; his signature accomplishment was passage of a health care law that extended coverage to nearly all of the state's residents. A Republican running a deeply blue state, Romney supported abortion rights and adopted centrist positions on gay rights; those positions would prompt social conservatives to look at him skeptically when he ran for president in 2008.
Despite little name recognition nationally when he started his 2008 presidential run, Romney came close to winning the nomination; he would spend $45 million of his own money in the process, and shift notably to the right on social issues. In his 2012 run, he is stressing his business experience as necessary to turn around the struggling economy.
Romney entered the campaign as the frontrunner - though a weak one, due in part to the similarities between the health care law he signed in Massachusetts and President Obama's federal health care law. A powerful fundraiser with considerable wealth of his own, Romney has adopted a strategy that would allow him to whether possible losses in early-voting states and keep fighting for delegates even as rivals run out of money and leave the race.
Romney would spend the following years as a management consultant before co-founding private equity firm Bain Capital. The firm would acquire or invest in companies, often helping create jobs at these companies but sometimes cutting them. In 1994, Romney tried and failed to unseat Ted Kennedy as Massachusetts senator. In 1999, he left the business world to become CEO of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games, which he was widely credited with turning around.
Romney was elected Massachusetts governor in 2002; his signature accomplishment was passage of a health care law that extended coverage to nearly all of the state's residents. A Republican running a deeply blue state, Romney supported abortion rights and adopted centrist positions on gay rights; those positions would prompt social conservatives to look at him skeptically when he ran for president in 2008.
Despite little name recognition nationally when he started his 2008 presidential run, Romney came close to winning the nomination; he would spend $45 million of his own money in the process, and shift notably to the right on social issues. In his 2012 run, he is stressing his business experience as necessary to turn around the struggling economy.
Romney entered the campaign as the frontrunner - though a weak one, due in part to the similarities between the health care law he signed in Massachusetts and President Obama's federal health care law. A powerful fundraiser with considerable wealth of his own, Romney has adopted a strategy that would allow him to whether possible losses in early-voting states and keep fighting for delegates even as rivals run out of money and leave the race.
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