Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania intends to rally conservatives for the man who defeated him for the Republican presidential nomination -- former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts -- when the GOP holds its convention in Tampa later this month.
On Wednesday, a day after it was announced that Santorum would address the convention, the former presidential candidate said that Patriot Voices, an organization that he chairs, will hold an event for Romney in Tampa on Wednesday, Aug. 29.
"We at Patriot Voices look forward to joining with the country's leading conservative voices to demonstrate our committed support for Mitt Romney, Santorum said on Wednesday. Already, we've assembled a tremendous number of co-hosts that are outspoken conservatives on fiscal, social and national security issues."
Santorum beat Romney out in 11 states during the primaries and caucuses but the two candidates often exchanged harsh shots. When Santorum pulled out of the race, he did not mention Romney by name. Santorums endorsement of Romney drew fire from some national pundits, including former U.S. Rep. Joe Scarborough on his MSNBC show, for being tepid. After Santorum backed Romney in early May, Scarborough, who represented parts of the Panhandle as a Republican in Congress, argued that the former senator from Pennsylvania should not speak to the GOP Convention due to his weak endorsement.
On Tuesday, when it was announced that he was going to speak at the convention in Tampa, Santorum said Republicans needed to get behind Romney.
While he had engaged in an often heated fight with Romney for the Republican nomination, on Tuesday Santorum urged the GOP to rally behind Mitt Romney since the core principles of our country are at stake in November.
The contrast between President Obama and Mitt Romney could not be greater, Santorum said on Tuesday. Conservatives from across the country are rallying together and we will make our voices heard in a few weeks in Tampa.
The Patriot Voices event in Tampa is being backed by some of the leading social and religious conservatives in the nation. Gary Bauer, who led the Family Research Council (FRC) during the 1990s and ran for the Republican nomination in the 2000 election cycle, is one of the co-hosts of the event. So is prominent evangelical leader James Dobson. Tony Perkins, the former Louisiana state legislator who currently heads up the FRC, is one of the backers of the event. Other co-hosts include anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist, religious conservative political leader Ralph Reed and Phyllis Schlafly of the Eagle Forum. John Stemberger of the Florida Family Policy Council is also a co-host of the event.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
