(CNN) - With key Republican Senate primary showdowns in Georgia and Oregon on tap for next Tuesday and a faceoff in Iowa just a couple of weeks away, Rick Santorum isn't sitting idle.
The former senator from Pennsylvania and 2012 Republican presidential candidate – who's seriously considering another bid for the White House – fired off three endorsements the past two days.
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On Wednesday, as first reported by CNN, Santorum backed conservative talk radio host Sam Clovis in the free-for-all Iowa GOP Senate primary. Later that day Santorum gave his support to conservative state Rep. Jason Conger, who's battling a more moderate candidate for the Republican Senate nomination in Oregon. And Thursday, Santorum weighed in on the ugly intra-party fist-fight for the GOP Senate nomination in Georgia, endorsing former state secretary of state Karen Handel.
Santorum made his endorsements through his Patriot Voices PAC, which backs conservative causes and candidates.
Clovis backed Santorum's 2012 presidential campaign, which was fueled by a delayed victory over eventual GOP nominee Mitt Romney in the Iowa caucuses. Clovis currently lags in the latest polls, far behind Iowa state Sen. Joni Ernst and businessman Mark Jacobs. Matthew Whitaker, the former U.S. Attorney for the southern district of Iowa, is also running. If no candidate cracks 35% of the GOP primary vote, the nomination will be decided by around 2,000 delegates at a state party convention.
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Handel is one of five major candidates in a bitter primary fight in Georgia. The other candidates are businessman David Perdue and Reps. Phil Gingrey, Paul Broun and Jack Kingston. Handel, Kingston and Perdue, rather than the more conservative Broun and Gingrey, are the names battling for the top spot in the latest public opinion polls.
Since no candidate's expected to top 50%, this contest is all but certain to head to a July 22 runoff between the top two finishers.
In Oregon, a vote-by-mail state, Conger trails in the most recent polls to Portland pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Monica Wehby.
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Two candidates Santorum recently endorsed won victories in Tuesday's primaries.
Midland University President Ben Sasse, a former Bush administration official, came out on top in the Senate GOP primary in Nebraska. In recent weeks Sasse won the backing of Santorum as well as former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah. Sasse is now the favorite to win November's general election in the race to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Mike Johanns.
And conservative candidate Alex Mooney, who enjoyed Santorum's support, won a wide-open GOP nomination in West Virginia's 2nd Congressional District.
While making primary endorsements can be risky for potential White House contenders, especially one in Iowa, the state that kicks off the presidential caucus and primary calendar, Santorum is not one to play it safe.
But he tells CNN that these endorsements are not about himself, or any 2016 ambitions.
"These endorsements are about the future of this country. If we are going to stop President Obama's agenda and change the direction of this country, we have to elect strong conservatives to the U.S. Senate. I am committed to doing whatever I can to help make that happen," Santorum said.
But he also used the endorsements to mention his new book.
"Many of these candidates are also advocating the same message that is in my book Blue Collar Conservatives. They understand how to move our country forward, and I am pleased to help them take that vision to the U.S. Senate."