Coal Miner’s Grandson: Santorum to Declare Candidacy on June 6

Rick Santorum will officially declare his candidacy for president in southwestern Pennsylvania on June 6.

Unlike Newt Gingrich, who declared his candidacy over Twitter, Santorum’s announcement will be much more traditional, taking place near the western Pennsylvania coal mines where his grandfather worked after arriving in the United States from Italy.

“This location is significant because when Sen. Santorum’s grandfather left fascist Italy, he came to this country for America’s freedom and the opportunity our nation afforded him,” a source close to Santorum told CNN.

As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted earlier today, the setting of Santorum’s announcement will give the former two-term senator an opportunity to talk about his grandfather’s legacy, how he left Mussolini’s fascist Italy for the abundant freedoms offered in America — freedoms the long-shot Republican candidate claims are slowly being eroded by the Obama administration — but it will also serve as a reminder of the controversy surrounding Santorum’s residence while serving in the U.S. Senate.

Santorum, 53, who has had difficulty shaking his “loser” image — he was trounced by 18 points while seeking a third term in 2006 — is favored by only 2 percent of likely Republican voters nationally, according to a Gallup Poll released earlier today.