For Immediate Release
Contact: Matt Beynon***BREAKING NEWS***
Mt. Pleasant, SC - The Rick Santorum for President campaign is proud to announce that Rick Santorum has received the endorsement of over 30 national conservative leaders from around the country in support of his candidacy for President of the United States.
In a joint statement, conservative luminary Richard Viguerie said:
"Last
week some 150 conservative leaders gathered at Nancy and Paul
Pressler's ranch to discuss the Republican presidential campaign
-
there was an overwhelming 75 percent consensus to support Rick Santorum
for President.
"The group of conservative leaders named in
today's release includes Dr. James Dobson, Gary Bauer, Joseph Farah,
Foster Friess, Elaine Donnelly and many others representing all four
segments of the new conservative coalition who are coalescing behind
Rick Santorum's candidacy.
"I'm pleased that, so quickly after
Rick Perry suspended his campaign, I was able to announce the first
bloc of conservative leaders who have come forward to endorse Rick
Santorum.
"This list of endorsers demonstrates that Rick
Santorum is the best candidate to bring together social conservatives,
national defense conservatives, economic conservatives and the newly
energized constitutional conservatives of the Tea Party.
"Rick
Santorum is the only reliable conservative left in the race. He
has a
long involvement in the conservative movement, and he has demonstrated
his commitment to hiring conservatives on his Senate staff and in his
campaign. On the issues of vital importance to conservatives,
such as
the right to life, the pro-family agenda, national security, and
fighting the growth of government, he has walked with us even when the
path was hard.
"If conservatives want a conservative, not just
another establishment Republican, nominated in Tampa and elected in
November it is time for us to start concentrating on consolidating that
winning four-part coalition behind one candidate. The candidate
who
best appeals to all four segments of the winning 2010 coalition, with
the fewest negatives in November, is Rick Santorum.
"This is an
encouraging sign that movement conservatives are finding their natural
home in the Santorum campaign and are in fact coalescing behind Rick's
candidacy."
The text of the endorsement and the list of endorsers released today
follows:
"Conservatives
are the largest ideological bloc in the American electorate. In
this
election cycle a number of candidates with legitimate claims to
conservative support have considered or sought the Republican
nomination for President, but this has left the conservative vote
divided, empowering those who do not share our views and values.
To
defeat Barack Obama now is the time for conservatives to rally behind
the most electable conservative candidate, and we believe that
candidate is former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum.
"In
recognition of Rick Santorum's character, judgment, and especially his
commitment to institute an administration that will govern according to
conservative principles, we the undersigned endorse former Pennsylvania
Senator Rick Santorum for President of the United States and pledge to
advance his candidacy."
The complete list of endorsers includes:
Cathie Adams, President, Texas Eagle
Forum
Gary Bauer, President, American Values
Brian Burch, President, CatholicVote.org Candidate Fund
Tim Busch, Businessman, philanthropist, and attorney
Ken Campbell, California Conservative Leader
Peggy Dau, Special Liaison Representative, Voice of the Martyrs
Penna Dexter, Radio Host and Commentator
James Dobson, Family Talk
Elaine Donnelly, Center for Military Readiness
Tim Echols, Georgia Public Service Commission
Kirk Elliott, Philanthropia, founder and chairman
William J. Estrada, Director, Generation Joshua
Joseph Farah, Editor and Chief Executive Officer, WND.com and WND Books
Robert Fischer, President, Fischer Furniture, Inc
Richard Ford, President, Heritage Alliance
Foster Friess, Friess Associates
Maggie Gallagher, Institute for Marriage and Public Policy
Michael Geer, Family Policy Leader, Harrisburg, PA
Ellen Grigsby, Conservative Leader
Rebecca Hagelin, President, Rebecca Hagelin Communications and
Marketing, LLC
Patrick and Toya Hall, Vice President, Guadalupe Radio Network
Jason Jones, Producer of the film "Bella"
Tim LeFever, Chairman of the Board, Capitol Resource Institute
Brad Mattes, Executive Director, Life Issues Institute
William J. Murray, Chairman, Religious Freedom Coalition
Richard Neill, Texas Conservative Leader
Preston Noell III, President, Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.
Pam Olsen, President, Florida Prayer Network
Paul and Nancy Pressler, Justice, TX Court of App (ret)
Penny Pullen, Illinois State Representative 1977-1993, State President,
Eagle Forum of Illinois
Jill Stanek, Pro-life activist and blogger
John Stemberger, Florida Family Action
Stacy Taylor, Texas Conservative Leader
Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman, ConservativeHQ.com
To learn more about former Senator Rick Santorum, please visit www.RickSantorum.com.
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