Rick Santorum Hospitalized While Visiting Lowcountry

The Des Moines Register is reporting that former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum was taken ill and hospitalized while travelling in South Carolina on Saturday.

According to Santorum's spokeswoman Virginia Davis, Santorum “became ill and was admitted to the hospital for a gastro-intestinal illness and dehydration.”

The illness caused Santorum to cancel two events in Iowa that had been scheduled for Monday.

Davis said Santorum is expected to return to a full schedule later in the week.

Santorum was recently in South Carolina to support and campaign for Curtis Bostic in the South Carolina First Congressional District race.

Santorum's son John attends The Citadel. In a Twitter posting on Friday morning, Santorum said he was visiting The Citadel for his son's Recognition Day. He was also scheduled to appear at the Charleston County Republican Convention on Saturday, but sources told Patch he did not appear.

Santorum was Mitt Romney's strongest opposition in the Republican presidential primary in 2012. He spent a significant amount of time in South Carolina, but still finished a distant third in the primary.

Keep up with all of Patch's coverage of South Carolina politics by following us on Facebook HERE and Twitter HERE.