Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speaks during rally outside his Nevada headquarters in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012.
Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012 | 11:22 p.m.
Sharron Angle speaks at a campaign rally Oct. 29, 2010, at the Orleans.
Sun coverage
Sharron Angle has endorsed Rick Santorum in the Republican race to pick a presidential nominee, according to conservative publication the National Review.
“Rick Santorum and I have known each other for years. He is a strong fiscal and social conservative who stands on principles above politics,” Angle said in a statement released to the National Review on Wednesday. “He has never wavered in his support for family values, understanding the impact that strong families have on a prosperous economy. His continuous opposition to amnesty, Obamacare, the bailouts, and cap and trade are a perfect fit with our main street Tea Party movement.”
Angle rose to national prominence in 2010, when she emerged as the Republican challenger against Sen. Harry Reid, Nevada’s longtime Democratic senator who currently serves as majority leader.
With strong backing of the Tea Party, she staged an upset victory in the Republican primary and went on to come within 5 points of Reid — enough to scare him, but not enough to wrest his Senate seat away.
Since that contest, Angle has re-emerged onto the political scene intermittently, even announcing a bid for Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District seat — but eventually dropped out, complaining that the candidate-selection process rendered the election “illegitimate.”
Angle’s two closest supporters, Jeri Taylor-Swade and Laurel Fee, hosted Santorum Tuesday afternoon for an opening rally behind the offices of T.R.U.N.C. — Tea Party Republicans Uniting Nevada Conservatives — an organization they started early last year. Taylor-Swade and Fee recently accompanies Angle on a driving tour of the United States they called “TEAm Hobbit Express” — a reference to a comment made by Sen. John McCain about Tea Partyers last summer.
Taylor-Swade told the Sun the event was not an endorsement of Santorum per se, and that they hoped to sponsor more candidates, but none had yet taken them up on the invitation, due a combination of scheduling conflicts and an apparent lack of interest.
Santorum told the Sun Tuesday night that he hadn’t yet spoken to Angle, but would be happy for her endorsement.
Santorum is currently polling in last place.
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