Hoping for lightning to strike in next year’s South Carolina primary — a key early battleground state in the Republican presidential sweepstakes — former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum generated some thunder on the right this weekend when he announced several key additions to his fledgling campaign in the Palmetto State.
During one of several stops in Columbia on Saturday, Santorum announced that Robert Castellani, founder and CEO of North American Rescue, Inc., will serve as his campaign’s finance chairman and state Republican Party development director Donna Martin will serve as the campaign’s financial consultant in South Carolina.
Santorum, who has already made more trips to South Carolina than any other candidate, also announced that James D’Alessio, president of the South Carolina Alliance of Health Plans, will chair his campaign’s outreach to state business coalitions, while Carolina Pregnancy Center executive director Alexia Newman will head the campaign’s social and family policy coalitions.
On Friday, the former Pennsylvania lawmaker received the support of former South Carolina Rep. Gresham Barrett, a former four-term congressman who gave up his seat to pursue an unsuccessful bid for governor in 2010. Barrett was endorsed by Santorum during that heated four-way primary, but lost badly to Gov. Nikki Haley in a runoff.
Barrett, 50, had represented one of the most heavily evangelical regions of South Carolina — a constituency the socially-conservative Santorum is working hard to attract — and was one of the most conservative members of the U.S. House of Representatives during his eight years in Congress. In 2006, Barrett was one of 33 House members to vote against renewing the Voting Rights Act.
Barrett will chair Santorum’s South Carolina campaign and will also serve on the candidate’s national energy policy advisory council.
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