Did Santorum's last name hurt him

[Samof94]

Rick Santorum is infamous for his last name being turned into a sexual euphemism after he said some hateful things as a Senator. Did this hurt him in 2012, which was his first post 2006 campaign???

[TheTide]

I doubt it, especially given that he did far better than just about anyone expected and might have won the nomination if he had beaten Romney in Ohio and/or Michigan. Quite extraordinary for someone who had lost his re-election for the Senate by almost 20% and whose brand of Republicanism was fairly out of fashion by that point.

[Meatball Ron]

Everything the previous poster said, and also, that meme wasn't too widely known outside of educated lib / Colbert circles

[Samof94]

I doubt it, especially given that he did far better than just about anyone expected and might have won the nomination if he had beaten Romney in Ohio and/or Michigan. Quite extraordinary for someone who had lost his re-election for the Senate by almost 20% and whose brand of Republicanism was fairly out of fashion by that point.

He did worse in 2016.

[Independents for Nihilism]

This is an idiotic question. If he was called John Smith, they would have used the term "John Smithing" or something. The point was to mock the man, not his name. It was just another way to needle him on the social conservatism which dragged down his campaign.

[Statilius the Epicurean]

Sick Rantorum

[Progressive Pessimist]

Santorum's face and personality hurt him...and us.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Santorum is one of my favorite Republicans.  What hurt him in his Presidential elections was losing his Senate race in PA and having been out of public view for some time.

[Vice President Christian Man]

Santorum is one of my favorite Republicans.  What hurt him in his Presidential elections was losing his Senate race in PA and having been out of public view for some time.

Wasn't he more of a Club for Growth type of Republican?

[ClassicElectionEnthusiast]

Santorum is one of my favorite Republicans.  What hurt him in his Presidential elections was losing his Senate race in PA and having been out of public view for some time.

I think related to that loss was the opinion many conservatives had that they felt Santorum in a sense betrayed them by endorsing Arlen Specter over Pat Toomay in the 2004 GOP Senate primary (never mind that once Toomay got to the Senate after the 2010 election, he was at best only marginally to the right of Specter)

[Fuzzy Bear]

Santorum is one of my favorite Republicans.  What hurt him in his Presidential elections was losing his Senate race in PA and having been out of public view for some time.

Wasn't he more of a Club for Growth type of Republican?

Not really, no.  That's more of a Romney/Ryan type.