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Updated: 11:04 p.m.
Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R) announced Wednesday night that he is creating a 2012 presidential exploratory committee.
The final decision will come down to fundraising, the two-term Pennsylvania Senator said on Fox News Channel’s “On the Record With Greta Van Susteren.”
“I’ve been out traveling the country. I’ve been to 25 states over the past year, spending a lot of extra time in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada now, and I’ve gotten a lot of great feedback from people, a lot of encouragement,” he said. “And I feel like we’ve got a good, strong presence on the ground, and now really the test for me is whether we can raise the money that’s necessary.”
Santorum said he has been “blessed” in his past fundraising efforts, pointing to the millions he raised for his Senate re-election bid in 2006 — a race he lost by 18 points to Democrat Bob Casey. Santorum reported spending $25.8 million in that race compared with Casey’s $17.6 million, according to the Federal Election Commission.
“You know, 2006 is not like 2010 or 2012. It’s a very different election cycle. ... In 2008, I think the American people, you know, wanted a president who they could believe in. And I think after two years of that, what they realized is that America needs a president that believes in them,” he said.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) also launched an exploratory committee this week, and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) announced his three weeks ago. President Barack Obama made his re-election bid official last week.
Santorum will make an appearance Friday in New Hampshire, which will hold the GOP’s first-in-the-nation primary for the 2012 presidential election. Pawlenty, Santorum and a handful of other likely Republican presidential candidates will headline an annual tax day rally of the New Hampshire chapter of Americans for Prosperity, a prominent tea party group in the state.
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