Three months ago, Rick Santorum almost pulled off the unthinkable when he lost by a mere 3 percentage points to Mitt Romney in Michigan, Romney\u2019s home state. If Santorum had won Romney\u2019s home state he would have had a great chance at winning the Republican nomination. In the end, Romney held on for the victory and the nomination. However, the fascinating question is how Santorum resurrected himself from a humiliating 17-point loss in his 2006 Senatorial re-election campaign to become a strong contender for the Republican nomination. The answer is simple: unshakeable religious beliefs and social convictions.<\/p>\n
Santorum flaunted his conservative brand of Catholicism along with his staunch opposition to abortion, the use of birth control and gay rights in order to connect emotionally with a large, disgruntled portion of the Republican electorate who were unenthused by the convictionless Romney.<\/p>\n
The story of primary season was not Romney\u2019s victory, but rather the temporary success and surge in popularity of religious-firebrand-cum-socially-conservative candidates from Michelle Bachmann to Rick Perry to Santorum, whose campaigns showed us that, contrary to popular opinion, religious belief is still strong in America, as evidenced by its return to the forefront of electoral politics.<\/p>\n