Rick Santorum, With 2016 in Mind, Heads Out to Iowa

The defending champion of the Iowa Republican presidential caucus will be returning to the Hawkeye State this week. Rick Santorum clearly is thinking about a second presidential bid and he admitted as much on Sunday morning when he appeared on Meet the Press.

Santorum will be hitting Rock Rapids on Thursday to help the Lyon County and the Northwest Iowa Republicans. On Friday, Santorum is planning to spend five hours at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines before heading to Ames for an event hosted by the Iowa Family Leader, a social and religious conservative group.

Polls show Santorum has faded since his surprisingly successful presidential bid in which he beat Mitt Romney in 11 states. It will be tough for him to regain top tier status. Still, Santorum has exceeded expectations before by working the grassroots in Iowa and other states. Two and a half years until the next Iowa caucus, Santorum is going back to work doing the things that helped him in the Hawkeye State in 2012.