Alumnus Richard J. Santorum '86 now in second place in GOP primaries

Richard J. Santorum, who graduated from The Dickinson School of Law in 1986, has won several state GOP primaries in the 2012 presidential race. Santorum holds a degree in political science from Penn State and an M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh. He was an associate at Kirkpatrick & Lockhart (now K&L Gates) after his admission to the Pennsylvania bar.

Santorum left the practice of law in 1990 when he was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. In 1994 he was elected to the United States Senate, where he served from 1995 to 2007. Santorum lost a bid for re-election in 2006.

He has won Republican primaries in Iowa, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Alabama, and Mississippi. According to the AP, Santorum has 252 delegates, while Governor Mitt Romney has 495. To secure the nomination, a candidate needs 1,144 delegates.

Santorum and his wife are the parents of seven children.