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Rick Santorum Is Reportedly Dropping Out of the Presidential Race

After a disappointing finish in Iowa, Rick Santorum is expected to announce that he's going home.

Rick Santorum praying in 2012. Photo via WikiCommons

As is usually the case in presidential primaries, the days immediately following the Iowa caucuses on Monday have been full of reality checks for the more hopeless candidates. Earlier on Wednesday Rand Paul dropped out after finishing fifth in Iowa and disappointing in the New Hampshire polls—joining Democrat Martin O'Malley and fellow Republican Mike Huckabee as a caucus casualty—and now CNN is reporting that Rick Santorum is following suit.

The Republican former senator has been campaigning for president for what seems like forever—his moment in the sun came when he edged out eventual nominee Mitt Romney in a close Iowa contest in 2012. But since then, he has faded into obscurity: This time around, he never got the poll numbers to appear on the main GOP debate stage, and was increasingly marginalized. In a pre-caucus story headlined "Contemplating Oblivion With Santorum, 2016's Saddest Candidate," NBC News reported that at one event Santorum hosted, "Much of the crowd consisted of Chinese teenagers in matching blue T-shirts visiting Iowa as part of a program to learn about American democracy."

Before the caucuses, Santorum may have been holding out hope that evangelical voters in Iowa would suddenly decide to reward him for his years of social conservatism. But it turns out that pretty much the only person who wants Rick Santorum to be president is Rick Santorum, so he's expected to announce on Wednesday night that he's going home.

Still in the race are Carly Fiorina, who barely outperformed Santorum, and John Kasich, Chris Christie, and Jeb Bush, who are hoping that they can prove their viability as candidates in New Hampshire. Jim Gilmore is also still in the race, though no one really knows why.