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Rick Santorum: "This is the Most Important Election in Our Lifetimes"

Gettysburg, PA
Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Republican Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum addressed supporters at the Gettysburg Hotel in Gettysburg, PA, after Mitt Romney won the evening's only primary in Illinois.

The former Pennsylvania Senator stopped at an overflow room before his speech. He told the crowd assembled that there were at least 1,000 people who were unable to get into the room in which the speech was held.

Santorum said he spoke with Mitt Romney on the phone earlier to congratulate him on his win.

He spoke in front of a giant banner that read "Freedom" and said that he was glad that Mitt Romney was finally embracing that theme in his victory speech tonight.

In a jab at Romney's business experience, Santorum said "we don't need a manager." He told supporters "we need someone who will go out and liberate the private sector."

He also spoke about health care and energy policy, advocating a more hands off approach to each.

Santorum spent the last week campaigning in Illinois before returning in Pennsylvania, the state which he represented in the U.S. Senate.  Pennsylvania holds it's Republican presidential primary on April 24, along with Connecticut, Delaware, New York and Rhode Island.

Updated: Thursday, March 22, 2012 at 4:22pm (ET)

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Washington Journal (late 2012)