Why didn't Romney pick Santorum?

[Ragnaroni]

Santorum had second place, would have helped Romney with dissatified right-wing voters (who were many afaik) and had more experience than Paul Ryan! The key one was that Romney was too "moderate" for the GOP and thus they didn't bother with him and Santorum was like Christian-right.

What on Earth happened there?

[Хahar 🤔]

Santorum was a joke candidate whose most recent appearance in public life prior to deciding to run for president was losing re-election by 17 points six years prior. His campaign for president was seen as ludicrous and he himself was universally regarded as a right-wing extremist. Nobody suggested that Romney choose him as his running mate because the thought would have been absurd.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Beyond what Xahar correctly said, Santorum's success was also a fluke resulting from other (and in some cases more obvious/qualified/electable) anti-Romneys having already risen up, peaked, and fizzled out for a variety of reasons owing to gaffes. The examples I remember best are Rick Perry and Herman Cain. It would be like choosing Ben Carson as VP in 2016 if only his momentum had held on until Iowa.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Santorum's success was indeed driven by a "last man standing" kind of dynamic.

Santorum also was very much tied to the Bush foreign policy and was also very much on the extreme end of socially conservative candidates. While it might have ginned up some more support from the base, he doesn't get Romney over the top.

It might have flipped Florida, but then again Santorum was tied to Social Security privatization as well, so that could have been even worse than with Ryan.

[Stranger in a strange land]

Beyond what Xahar correctly said, Santorum's success was also a fluke resulting from other (and in some cases more obvious/qualified/electable) anti-Romneys having already risen up, peaked, and fizzled out for a variety of reasons owing to gaffes. The examples I remember best are Rick Perry and Herman Cain. It would be like choosing Ben Carson as VP in 2016 if only his momentum had held on until Iowa.

The whole logic of the Santorum campaign never really made sense because as has already been mentioned, his most recent election result was losing re-election by 17 points in a Swing State. Imagine if someone was fired from middle management at a major corporation and then applied to be its CEO. Santorum's campaign was taken about as seriously as that would be.

[Vosem]

Beyond what Xahar correctly said, Santorum's success was also a fluke resulting from other (and in some cases more obvious/qualified/electable) anti-Romneys having already risen up, peaked, and fizzled out for a variety of reasons owing to gaffes. The examples I remember best are Rick Perry and Herman Cain. It would be like choosing Ben Carson as VP in 2016 if only his momentum had held on until Iowa.

The whole logic of the Santorum campaign never really made sense because as has already been mentioned, his most recent election result was losing re-election by 17 points in a Swing State. Imagine if someone was fired from middle management at a major corporation and then applied to be its CEO. Santorum's campaign was taken about as seriously as that would be.

Eh...Santorum's presidential campaign was an incredible example of being at the right place at the right time, but he won the Iowa caucus and came within single-digits in pivotal Midwestern states. He was taken quite seriously by the primary electorate.

As to why he wasn't considered as a vice-presidential choice, yeah, all the stuff in this thread applies.

[Samof94]

Santorum was a joke candidate whose most recent appearance in public life prior to deciding to run for president was losing re-election by 17 points six years prior. His campaign for president was seen as ludicrous and he himself was universally regarded as a right-wing extremist. Nobody suggested that Romney choose him as his running mate because the thought would have been absurd.

He is also problematic to google.