2016 United States Presidential Election (Santorum in the House)

The 2016 United States Presidential Election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of former U.S Senator from Pennsylvania Richard Santorum and Indiana Governor Michael Pence defeated the Democratic ticket of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Senator from Virginia Elizabeth Warren, with the independent candidacy of Michael Bloomberg and Chuck Hagel coming in a distant third place.

Per the Twenty-Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, incumbent president Barack Obama was ineligible to seek a third term. Clinton defeated self-described democratic socialist senator Bernard Sanders in the Democratic primary, and became the first female presidential nominee of a major American political party. Santorum emerged as his party's front-runner amidst a wide field of candidates in the Republican primary, defeating former Governor Bobby Jindal, Senator Marco Rubio, businesswoman Carly Fiorina, former Governor Michael Huckabee and Governor Scott Walker among other candidates. The Libertarian Party nominated former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, and the Green Party nominated political activist Jill Stein. Also of some significance in the campaign were two independent candidates, former Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg and political activist Evan McMullin.

Santorum's right-wing populist and explicitly traditionalist campaign, which called on the people of the United States to "Fight for a Christian America" and advocated for "defending the Second Amendment", staunchly pro-life policies and banning same-sex marriage, garnered extensive free media coverage due to many of Santorum's statements, considered by some to be inflamatory. Clinton emphasized her long record of holding public office "in the service of the people", especially in relation to her tenure as Secretary of State under President Barack Obama, denounced Santorum and many of his supporters as a "basket of deplorables", bigots and extremists, and repeatedly underlined her commitment to fight for a number of progressive policies, such as universal health-care, 15$-an-hour minimum wage (among other "inclusive capitalism" measures) or the consolidation of racial, LGBT, and women's rights.

The tone of the general election campaign was widely characterized as divisive. Santorum faced substantial controversy over his views on abortion and same-sex marriage. Clinton's popularity and public image were tarnished by concerns about her ethics and trustworthiness and a controversy and subsequent FBI investigation regarding her improper use of a private email server while serving as Secretary of State. The polling was particularly erratic for this election, with Clinton expected to win Missouri and Santorum expected to win New Jersey at some points during the campaign. On Election Day, even though Clinton slightly overpeformed her last polling numbers, Santorum was the one to come on top, winning several key swing states and winning the popular vote by over 600,000 votes. Ultimately, Santorum received 323 electoral votes and Clinton received 215 electoral votes.

Notable expressions, phrases, and statements
By Santorum and Republicans:
 * "Drain the swamp!": A phrase Richard Santorum invoked late in the campaign to describe what needs to be done to fix the problems in the federal government. Santorum acknowledged that the phrase was suggested to him, and he was initially skeptical about using it.
 * "Fight for a Christian America!": Richard Santorum's campaign slogan.
 * "Build the Wall!": A chant used at many rallies by Donald Trump during the Republican primary, and Donald Trump's corresponding promise of the Mexican Border Wall.
 * "What do you have to lose?": Said by Richard Santorum to voting groups that don't traditionally vote for the Republican Party throughout the campaign.

By Clinton and Democrats:
 * "Basket of deplorables": A controversial phrase coined by Hillary Clinton to describe half of those who support Santorum.
 * "I'm with her": Clinton's unofficial campaign slogan ("Stronger Together" was the official slogan).
 * "What, like with a cloth or something?": Said by Hillary Clinton in response to being asked whether she wiped her emails during an August 2015 press conference.
 * "Feel the Bern": A phrase chanted by supporters of the Bernard Sanders campaign which was officially adopted by his campaign.