Wednesday, January 26, 2005
By Maeve Reston, Post-Gazette National Bureau
WASHINGTON -- Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who holds the No. 3 leadership post in the Republican-controlled Senate, said yesterday that while he would not rule out an eventual run for the presidency, he is focused on winning re-election to the Senate in 2006 and making a bid to become his party's majority whip.
"I'm not saying never," Santorum said when asked about a potential White House run, "but it is my intention to get elected to the Senate and serve my term.
"If you talked to everybody who's thinking about running for president, they're working right now," he said. "They're lining up people, they're making visits to Iowa and New Hampshire this year and they're doing what's necessary to build that political and grass roots support. Let me be very candid. I'm not going to do any of that. If I travel around the country, which I intend to do, it's for one purpose: to raise money for my Senate race in 2006."
If Santorum is re-elected, some have speculated that he might make a run for the White House or make a bid to become majority leader when Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., retires in 2006. But Santorum yesterday said he plans to run for the No. 2 position because he expects the Senate's current majority whip, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, to seek the top leadership spot.
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