Candidate addresses supporters, reporters at The Citadel
Rick Santorum declared the race for the Republican presidential nomination "wide open" on Saturday night as he addressed supporters and reporters at The Citadel in Charleston, showing no signs of slowing down any time soon despite his third-place finish in the South Carolina primary.
"We will go to Florida, and then we're going to Arizona, and then we're going to Colorado and Maryland and everywhere else across this country," Santorum said amid roaring applause and enthusiastic chants of "We pick Rick!"
Santorum graciously congratulated winner Newt Gingrich and spoke kindly of his opponents, taking aim at President Obama.
"It's great to be up there, shoulder-to-shoulder with them every night ... taking on the policies of this president," Santorum said while stressing the importance of creating jobs. "We need to have an attitude in this country that says we can compete for those blue-collar jobs that create the opportunities that in two generations, one of their kids can run for president of the United States."
Surrounded by his family, Santorum stressed the importance of traditional family values not only for the people of the United States, but for the Republican party.
"If we are not the party that stands up for the truth about the importance of families [and] the importance of marriage ... then we are a party that no longer has a heart," he said.
Before waving goodbye to cheering fans, he implored Americans: "It's a wide open race. Join the fight."