DES MOINES, Iowa – Former Illinois U.S. Rep. Bobby Schilling received an endorsement from former U.S. Senator and 2012 Iowa Caucus winner Rick Santorum in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District Republican primary on June 2.
Schilling, who owns a small pizza restaurant chain on the Illinois side of the Quad Cities, moved to Iowa in 2016, building a house in LeClaire.
Santorum sent a letter on behalf of Schilling, who is in a hotly contested primary race. The winner of the Republican primary will face the presumptive Democratic nominee former Lt. Governor candidate and State Senator Rita Hart, D-Wheatland. U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, announced he would retire at the end of his current term, leaving the seat open.
“I’ve known Bobby for almost a decade now. He is the real deal – a hard-working blue-collar guy who tells it like it is,” Santorum wrote.
He then presumably criticizes Schilling’s main opponent in the race, State Senator Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Ottumwa. She has won the endorsements of Governor Kim Reynolds, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. Miller-Meeks also leads the Republican candidates in fundraising.
Pro-life activists in the state have expressed skepticism about her pro-life credentials in the past, something Miller-Meeks addressed with Caffeinated Thoughts.
Miller-Meeks’ campaign last month recently attacked Schilling’s record in Congress and questioned his support for President Trump launching a website entitled “Schilling for Votes.” Santorum also appears to counter that charge.
“Unlike his opponent in the race, Bobby doesn’t try to have it both ways on the most important issues. He has ALWAYS been an unapologetic defender of the unborn. He has ALWAYS been a believer in America First and Family First. And he has supported President Trump and his agenda from day one,” Santorum said.
“Bobby isn’t like most politicians. He thinks like us. He talks like us. He is the only person running in this race that we can count on to represent working families and working family values – so vote accordingly,” Santorum added.