While prominent political leaders like Mike Huckabee, Mitch Daniels and Haley Barbour have chosen to sit on the sidelines in 2012, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania continues to build his own campaign team and appears increasingly as if he will enter the Republican presidential primaries.

Santorum will speak at the Republican Party of Sarasota County’s Lincoln Day Dinner in Sarasota on Wednesday night. The event will also feature current state Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, who is running for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012.

“I’m honored to share my thoughts on our great United States and the values and virtues we Americans esteem,” said Santorum in an audio spot released on Sunday by the Sarasota County Republicans.

The Sarasota appearance is not Santorum’s only appearance this week. He will also be leading a panel discussion on how Christian churches can help promote democracy in Latin America through the auspices of the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) -- a  think tank he is affiliated with -- in Washington on Friday. However, despite these appearances, Santorum’s focus remains on the states that will be contested early in the Republican nominating process -- namely Iowa, home of the first caucus, and New Hampshire which holds the first primary.

While Santorum has formed an exploratory committee and has not officially entered the race, he took another step toward running on Monday as he continued to add to his staff in both Iowa and New Hampshire.

Santorum named campaign veteran Jamie Johnson, who has been active with the Republican Party of Iowa and with the tea party movement in that state, to serve as his coalitions director. The former senator also named April Baylor, who has experience in gubernatorial and congressional campaigns in Iowa, to serve as the assistant to Cody Brown who is leading Santorum’s team in Iowa.

Over in New Hampshire, Santorum named two additional staffers to serve as field representatives -- Kristin Beaulieu and Tyler Carlisle who both worked in Republican campaigns in 2010 in the Granite State.

"I am excited to announce the additions of Jamie, April, Kristin and Tyler to our expanding team in the early primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire," said Santorum on Monday. "As I continue to explore a run for the presidency, I look forward to working closely with each of them to build the grass-roots network necessary to deliver our message of empowering the American people, and not the government."

Trailing in the polls, with almost every poll at the national and state level showing him in low single digits, Santorum is looking to break through in Iowa and New Hampshire and he is making a major effort in both states. Last week, Santorum campaigned in Iowa -- his 14th appearance to the Hawkeye State. Earlier in the month, he made his 16th appearance in New Hampshire.

First elected to the Senate in 1994, Santorum served two terms before losing to Democratic candidate Bob Casey Jr. in 2006. During his two terms, Santorum amassed one of the most conservative voting records in the Senate on social issues, leading the fight against abortion and supporting the teaching of the intelligent design theory of human creation. Santorum also supported the Iraq war and opposed efforts to expand same-sex marriage.

Since losing to Casey back in 2006, Santorum has remained active from his perch at EPPC, a think tank with ties to many conservative Catholic intellectuals and policymakers. He considered entering the Republican primaries in 2008, but decided against it.