Former Pennsylvanian Republican senator and prior presidential candidate Rick Santorum strongly suggested he would be running for the White House again in 2016, claiming he “want[s] to stay involved in the mix” and hitting Republican rival Rand Paul for bringing up Monica Lewinsky.

Santorum was asked by Fox News’ Stuart Varney whether the former senator’s upcoming trips to Iowa and New Hampshire means he will be again running for president in a couple years.

“I want to stay involved in the mix,” he said. “I’m certainly concerned about this election upcoming, and have left my options on the table for 2016. And if you’re going to leave your options on the table you’ve got to get around and see people.”

Widely viewed as the socially conservative candidate, Santorum nevertheless pushed back against Varney’s question about whether he would again focus on social issues. “Anybody that really travelled around with me saw that what I talked about was basic foundational values of this country,” he claimed. “And I really focused most of my campaign on Obamacare.”

In another sign he is gearing up for a run, Santorum offered a subtle swipe at Rand Paul’s Monica Lewinsky-inspired attack on Hillary Clinton.

“Having gone through that in the United States Senate, having sat in judgement of the president of impeachment, I’m perfectly willing to put that issue behind us and move onto things that are of deep concern to the American public,” he said. “And there’s a lot of things going on right now that we need to be concerned with right now, other than what happened 15 years ago.

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