Rick Santorum
A social conservative firebrand who reshaped Republican politics by championing traditional values and challenging his party's establishment.
Born 1958 (age 68)·American politician, attorney and author·Birthday: May 10·Baby Boomers
Biography
Rick Santorum emerged from the suburbs of Pennsylvania to become one of the most polarizing and influential voices in modern American conservatism. Elected to the Senate in the Republican wave of 1994, he quickly established himself not as a backbencher but as a relentless advocate for a muscular brand of social policy. His tenure was defined by moral crusades, from opposing abortion rights to warning of cultural decay, which often put him at odds with more moderate forces within his own party. His surprising second-place finish in the 2012 Republican presidential primaries demonstrated the enduring power of his message with a significant segment of the electorate. Even after electoral defeats, Santorum remained a fixture on the cable news circuit and a sought-after voice for the religious right, his career a testament to how conviction politics can command a national stage.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Rick was born in 1958, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Rick Was Born
The biggest hits of 1958
#1 Movie
South Pacific
Best Picture
Gigi
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Rick's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1958Born
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1963Started school
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1971Became a teenager
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1974Could drive
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1976Could vote
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1979Turned 21
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1988Turned 30
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 40
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 50
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 60
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 68 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as the third-ranking Republican in the U.S. Senate as Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference from 2001 to 2007.
- Authored and successfully championed the 2003 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, a major legislative victory for social conservatives.
- Finished second in the 2012 Republican presidential primaries, winning eleven state contests and demonstrating a strong grassroots following.
- Represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate for two terms, from 1995 to 2007.
- Founded the political action committee Patriot Voices to support conservative candidates and causes.
Did You Know?
The term 'Santorum' was redefined by a controversial internet campaign in 2003 as a neologism meant to criticize his views on homosexuality.
He and his wife homeschooled their seven children.
He worked as an attorney for the Pittsburgh-based law firm Kirkpatrick & Lockhart before entering politics.
Santorum was a vocal supporter of the manufacturing sector and opposed free trade agreements he believed harmed American workers.
“We are a country that is based on a moral enterprise, not an economic enterprise.”
