Rick Santorum has taken another step toward a 2016 presidential bid.
The former Pennsylvania senator, who ran for the Republican presidential ticket in 2012, has invited more than two dozen “friends and former colleagues” to meet and discuss his presidential aspirations.
“As you probably know, RJS is seriously considering a run for the White House in 2016,” Santorum adviser Matt Beynon wrote in the email provided to CNN by a Republican who received the invitation.
“With the midterms and the new year behind us, he is beginning the final stages of preparation and consideration of another campaign,” Beynon added.
Dubbed a “Personal Invitation from Senator Santorum,” alumni from past campaigns and his time in the Congress are invited to meet in a “private briefing” with him to get “a personal update on his plans” for 2016.
The meeting is set for Jan. 13 at the offices of the American Continental Group, a lobbying and public affairs office in Washington.
“The senator is gathering his former Capitol Hill senior staff to give them a personal update on his thinking and preparation for a potential presidential campaign,” Beynon told CNN. “He’s very much looking forward to catching up with them.”
For his most recent presidential bid, in 2012, Santorum officially declared in June 2011.
