(08-12) 07:19 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, the blunt-talking conservative who once was the No. 3 Senate Republican, will make appearances this fall in the early caucus state of Iowa.
Santorum's scheduled to give a speech Oct. 1 at the University of Dubuque about the future of the Republican Party, John Brabender, his longtime political adviser, said Wednesday. Brabender said he's also attending a luncheon in Des Moines with an anti-abortion group.
Brabender played down speculation that Santorum has presidential aspirations and said it's not necessarily the first step of a presidential run.
"Rick Santorum certainly feels he has a lot to contribute to the party and feels that now is a good time particularly for conservatives to be willing to stand up and talk about some things," Brabender said.
Santorum, 51, handily lost his seat to Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., in 2006 as part of the anti-war and anti-incumbent tide. He works as a Fox News contributor and writes a column for the Philadelphia Inquirer. He's also part of a movie production company and a Washington think tank.
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