Former presidential candidate Santorum forms conservative group

Republican presidential candidate and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum speaks with supporters at a town hall meeting held at the American Legion Hall in Lady Lake, Florida, January 23, 2012. R

(Reuters) - Former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum launched a new conservative group on Friday with the goal of recruiting 1 million members to help get Democratic President Barack Obama out of the White House.

The former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania said the group, Patriot Voices, is committed to promoting "faith, freedom and opportunity" and will offer financial and other support to conservative candidates in the November 6 general election.

"We're going to be holding candidates accountable and getting involved with candidates, supporting them and, of course, supporting Mitt Romney and making sure Mitt is the next president of the United States," Santorum said on Fox News' "Fox and Friends."

Santorum dropped out of the White House race in April, effectively handing the Republican nomination to former Massachusetts Governor Romney.

Santorum, a social conservative, won his party's first nominating contest in Iowa in January by a slim margin. His rise in the Republican primary campaign highlighted such social conservative issues as birth control and role of religion in public life, diverting Romney's focus from the economy.

Santorum ended his campaign after the better-funded Romney racked up a series of wins.

(Reporting by Mary Wisniewski; Editing by Eric Beech and Doina Chiacu)