Rick Santorum will return to Akron today not as a Republican presidential candidate, but to stump for Mitt Romney, the likely GOP nominee.
Santorum will speak at a rally at Tangier restaurant, 532 W. Market St., from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. No tickets are required. Area GOP candidates are also expected to attend, but haven’t yet confirmed.
Santorum, who twice visited the Akron area before the March primary, when he was still a candidate, will discuss President Barack Obama’s “war on religion” with his federal health-care law, said Izzy Santa, a spokesperson for the Romney campaign.
The law requires coverage of sterilization, contraception and abortion-inducing drugs, which prompted court challenges and an outcry from some religious leaders.
Before visiting Akron, Santorum will celebrate the Feast of the Assumption at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Cleveland, participating in the solemn Mass, church procession and a cavatelli dinner. After the Akron rally, he will go home for dinner with his family.
Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, drew a record crowd of more than 1,350 to the Summit County Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner in February.
He made his last campaign stop before the March 6 primary at a rally at the pavilion at Falls River Square in Cuyahoga Falls, making a pitch to about 250 people.
Romney claimed Ohio in the primary, helping to seal his status as the likely Republican nominee.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com.
