A run for president in 2016 will hinge on the health of his family, said former GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum.
The former Pennsylvania senator came in second behind Republican nominee Mitt Romney in his campaign for the White House in 2012. Health issues of his youngest child, Bella, impacted his campaign.
"I've got to make sure everybody is healthy and ready to go," Santorum told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Tuesday. "The only reason I wouldn't run is family considerations."
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"We have seven children. We have a lot of issues with our youngest daughter. And as you know, that was a big factor in the last race," he added.
Bella, 5, was born with a rare genetic condition called trisomy 18, which means she has three copies of chromosome 18 instead of two. It can cause a number of physical and developmental problems, and it means her immune system is likely compromised, leading to infections and illnesses.
Bella is now "doing great," Santorum said, and explained the "big issue for me is always family first."
Santorum has penned a new book titled
"Blue Collar Conservatives: Recommitting to an America That Works." He said it highlights the plight of the working class, which has been overlooked by the GOP.
Republicans have "gone off the rails. You hear this talk about establishment Republicans versus the tea party. But I think it's establishment Republicans versus, sort of, the working guy," he said.
Economic issues were hitting working-class families hard, Santorum said, adding that policies that tax income hurt job growth.
"When you're taxing income, you're taxing workers. It's a tax on labor. It's a tax on work," he said. "The whole idea is if you want more of something, subsidize it. If you want less of something, tax it. And so, the idea of cutting taxes is a good idea."
Santorum said his book addresses reforming the tax code "to stop disincentivizing" work and offers a blueprint for creating an "economy that works for working people."
"This book, if you look at it, there's a big whole plan on how we're going to get manufacturing up and going, and educational opportunities, vocational training — all the things that we need to do to create the skilled workers that we need to make sure that these jobs can be done," he said.
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