Santorum to tour Iowa, meet GOP leaders

WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., says he will visit Iowa this fall, sparking speculation of a 2012 Republican presidential run.

The Washington publication Politico reported Wednesday that Santorum will appear in Iowa before conservative activists, who tend to dominate that state's first-in-the-nation GOP presidential election caucuses.

Santorum lost his Pennsylvania reelection bid in 2006 by 18 percentage points. He says he will tour Iowa on Oct. 1, appearing on a Des Moines radio talk show and speaking to Iowa's Right to Life group. That will be followed by a sojourn to Dubuque where he is set to appear at a fundraiser for the conservative America's Future Fund PAC, Politico said.

"Your voice becomes more amplified when you go to a place like Iowa or New Hampshire," Santorum told the publication, but he added it was too soon to consider a presidential run.

Politico described Santorum as an outspoken social conservative known across the country for his anti-abortion activism who may find support among conservative Christians who never fail to turn out in the GOP's presidential caucuses in Iowa.