Santorum makes 2016 case

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) sounds increasingly certain to mount another bid for the presidency in 2016, judging by recent public comments including those made on a New York radio show Sunday.

Santorum, who became the strongest rival to eventual GOP nominee Mitt Romney in 2012, is emphasizing both his blue-collar roots and his experience in matters of national security.

Asked by John Catsimatidis of AM 970 in New York what distinguished him from other candidates, the former senator responded, “I’m the only candidate…who has a jobs program that really focuses on workers.” He added that he was also the only Republican “who’s publicly said we do need to increase the minimum wage.”

{mosads}Santorum positioned himself to powerful effect in 2012 as a voice for more economically embattled GOP voters, often talking on the campaign trail about his grandfather, an Italian immigrant and coal miner.

On the radio show, “The Cats Roundtable,” Santorum also stressed his view that “on the national security front…there isn’t really anybody else considering running for president that has the experience that I have…I was eight years on the [Senate] Armed Services Committee.”

Santorum also pushed back at those critics who would define him solely through the lens of his socially conservative outlook.

“When I left the United States Senate in 2007, a lot of people said, “Oh, Rick, you’re a social conservative.’ Well, I didn’t go to a social conservative think tank,” he said. “I went to a think tank that focused on nation security.”

Santorum at that point joined the Ethics and Foreign Policy Center as a senior fellow. 

Despite Santorum’s strong showing in 2012, he faces an uphill climb if he does indeed run in 2016. A new poll from The Des Moines Register, released Saturday, put him well down the field even in the Hawkeye State, drawing just 5 percent support among Iowa Republican voters.