Manchester Union Leader: John DiStaso's Granite Status: Rick Santorum latest potential GOP 2012 hopeful to book NH visit
02/16/10
| John DiStaso, the New Hampshire Union Leader's senior political writer, began writing "Granite Status" in 1982. His influential reports on behind-the-scenes politics in the first-primary state are must reading every Thursday for insiders from Concord to Washington, D.C. Watch for "Granite Status" updates on UnionLeader.com whenever New Hampshire political news breaks. SANTORUM HEADED HERE. Another Republican potential 2012 presidential hopeful is making plans to come to the first-primary state. The Granite Status has learned that conservative former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania has been booked to keynote the Cheshire County Republican Lincoln Day Dinner at the Keene Country Club on April 30. "We're very excited about it here in Cheshire County, which tends to be a little more liberal," said county GOP chair Juliana Bergeron, confirming the Santorum appearance. "The fact that he is a potential candidate will be a great draw." Although the date is more than two months away, word of Santorum's Granite State appearance is timely because it comes a day after he announced that he will visit Iowa for the second time on March 9. He will speak at the spring conference of the Iowa Christian Alliance, described by the Chicago Tribune as one of the most influential conservative groups in that state. Santorum, 51, was elected to the Senate in 1994 at the age of 36 and rose to become chairman of the Senate Republican Conference. In 2006, Santorum lost a bid for a third term to Democrat Bob Casey, Jr. Although Santorum has said little about a potential presidential candidacy, his visits to Iowa and speeches to other conservative groups have prompted speculation that he is considering a run. Such speculation will only increase now with word that he's headed to New Hampshire.As the Granite Status reported last week, Minnesota Gov. Tom Pawlenty plans to return to the state on March 25 (see item below). We reported last month that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will visit the state on April 7 and 8 for a book signing appearance and speeches at St. Anselm College's New Hampshire Institute of Politics and a "Politics and "Eggs" breakfast at the Bedford Village Inn. |
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