Rick Santorum Backs Dan Liljenquist Over Orrin Hatch

Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, who broke out of the second tier of Republican presidential candidates to win more than 10 state contests earlier in the year, shows no signs of heading to the political sidelines.

Last week, Santorum announced that he was forming a new political organization called Patriot Voices and, on Friday, he waded into one of the most competitive Republican primaries in the nation.

In an email sent out to supporters, Santorum announced that he was backing Dan Liljenquist to topple longtime U.S. Orrin Hatch in the Republican primary in Utah.

"Dan Liljenquist is the stronger conservative in this race. I've known Orrin Hatch for years and believe he is a very good man, but in a deeply conservative state like Utah, we must elect authentic conservatives. I believe Dan Liljenquist is that candidate, Santorum wrote. "What also makes Dan such a strong candidate deserving of our support is his record of taking on the tough fights and delivering results. As a freshman state senator in Utah, on the issue of pension reform, he got legislation passed with bipartisan support. The following year, he would take on the pension system and save the program from bankrupting the state. It is that type of leader and reformer we need in the U.S. Senate!