Does anyone even know Rick Santorum is running for president?
Usually when analysts measure Google searches during debates, they're looking to see how candidates resonate with voters. But for Rick Santorum, who found himself in the Republican undercard debate alongside Chris Christie, Mike Huckabee, and Bobby Jindal on Tuesday evening, the high searches he garnered might have genuinely been a question of, "Wait, who is this guy, again?"
According to an extremely informal poll held by Five Thirty Eight during the debate, 69.8 percent of its readers reported that Santorum was the candidate they had "kinda forgotten was still running for president." Behind him was Jindal at 31 percent and Huckabee at 22 percent.
The peak of interest in Santorum came when he spoke about the VA, accidentally shouting into the microphone:
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Registering a whopping 0.8 percent in Real Clear Politics' polling average, Santorum has been fighting being unmemorable for awhile now. "Have the national media forgotten about Rick Santorum?" The Washington Examiner asked in April — before he'd even jumped in the race.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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