Ex-Sen. Santorum eyeing presidential race

WASHINGTON, April 21 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., says he is considering a run for the Republican Party presidential nomination in 2012.

Santorum, best known as a social conservative, represented Pennsylvania in the Senate for two terms before losing the 2006 election by 18 percentage points to Bob Casey Jr.

Recently, he has made trips to Iowa and other early primary states and has been raising money through a political action committee, spending it on direct mail to conservatives, CBS News reports.

In January, he said in a letter to supporters he is "actively considering the 2012 race."

CBS said Santorum appears to be trying to avoid issues such as homosexuality, evolution and abortion that made him controversial. He describes himself as a "Tea Party person" and says he is sorry for supporting President George W. Bush's prescription drug Medicare bill.

While he was in the Senate, Santorum angered many conservatives by endorsing Arlen Specter, then a Republican, over a conservative challenger in the 2004 Pennsylvania primary. While Specter supports abortion rights, Santorum argues keeping Specter in the Senate and chairman of the Judiciary Committee helped speed confirmation of Bush's federal court nominees.