Another hat in the ring: Santorum

“Santorum to Run for President

By Jackie Kucinich, USA TODAY

Updated 4m ago

Former Sen. Rick Santorum said Monday morning he will run for president in 2012 and is "in it to win."

"We are ready to announce we'll be in this race and we'll be in it to win," Santorum said on ABC's Good Morning America.

Santorum will hold a rally later this morning at the Somerset County Courthouse in Somerset, Pa., near where his grandfather settled when he came to the United States from Italy.

While he has had some success in straw polls in the early primary states - Santorum still polls in the single digits, well behind GOP frontrunner and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney who announced his run last week.

Asked by host George Stephanopoulos why he thought he could win the nomination when he lost his Senate seat to Democrat Bob Casey by 59 percent to 41 percent in 2006, Santorum said voters are looking for a candidate who " has stood by their priniciples in good times and in bad."

"In 2006, I think, in everyone's estimation, was a pretty bad time for a Republican, particularly for a conservative," he said, adding that his commitment to social security reform also got him into trouble with voters that year.

"If you look back at what I did and when I did it, people can say... 'well he may have lost but he didn't flinch, he stood by what he believed in and he continued the fight to the end,'" he said.

Santorum served in the U.S. Senate from 1995 to 2007 and is a favorite among social conservatives, particularly for his stance against abortion and stem-cell research.

Santorum is not the first candidate this cycle to use Good Morning America to kick off their announcement tour. Texas Rep. Ron Paul chose the same network and program as Santorum to talk about his plans, before heading to a more conventional rally in New Hampshire.”