The former Massachusetts governor kept the timing a surprise, making the announcement in a web video on Monday.

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Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) has committed to a June presidential debate set for the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire.

The likely 2012 candidate is the first potential candidate on the Republican side to officially sign on for the June 7 debate sponsored by WMUR-TV, the New Hampshire Union Leader and CNN.

"I am committed to being an active participant in the debate process to share my views about how we can best tackle our nation's challenges, particularly in a state like New Hampshire that hosts the first-in-the-nation primary," Santorum said in a statement Monday. "I hope others considering a run for president will take this opportunity seriously so that we may offer solutions and alternatives to President Obama's failed policies."

Santorum was also the first Republican to commit to a May 5 debate in the early state of South Carolina, but it remains unclear whether he will be a participant. Fox News, which is sponsoring that debate along with the South Carolina GOP, said Monday that candidates must form official presidential exploratory committees to take part in the debate.

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer are the only three Republicans to have taken that official step so far. 

Santorum is headed back to the Granite State later this week for a three-day campaign swing.

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour will be on Capitol Hill Tuesday to talk healthcare reform with congressional Republicans.

The potential 2012 Republican presidential candidate is set to speak at a forum hosted by the Congressional Health Caucus. Barbour is expected to address his state's experience with Medicaid.

Barbour's lunchtime speech, during which he'll take questions from members, is part of the caucus's "Thought Leaders Series." As part of the series, prominent Republicans have been invited up to the Capitol to talk about how they would have done healthcare reform differently.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.), both potential contenders for the GOP's 2012 presidential nomination, have previously addressed the forum.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) told voters in Iowa on Monday that Congressional Republicans backed down too easily in the recent budget fight, saying, "We will never win if we don't fight."

Bachmann has been an outspoken critic of the deal struck by Congressional leaders and the White House late last week. The rumored 2012 presidential candidate has said she won't vote for the long-term budget deal because it doesn't defund the healthcare law.

"We're the ones who decide how the money gets spent," Bachmann said during an event Monday, according to Radio Iowa. "And Barack Obama gets no money, zero money unless we give it to him, and so he can be held hostage and Harry Reid can be held hostage if we don't give them money."

Bachmann urged lawmakers to be willing to risk "a government slowdown" in future budget battles.

A handful of other rumored 2012 presidential hopefuls called the budget deal a step in the right direction. Over the weekend in South Carolina, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) all expressed some level of support for the agreement. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) also labeled the agreement a partial victory on the road to the battle over Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) proposed budget.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), meanwhile, was critical of the budget deal, saying it fell too far short of the cuts Tea Party activists were hoping for. 

Bachmann was in Iowa for two speeches Monday as party of The Family Leader's "presidential lecture series." The social conservative group is headed by former Iowa gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats, a key broker in the state's Evangelical community who has said he's likely to endorse a candidate before next year's Iowa Caucus.

Conservative talk host Glenn Beck talked down former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's presidential prospects Monday, telling listeners of his radio show that he'd rather see the GOP ticket topped by Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) in 2012.

"I want to start a draft Allen West movement," Beck said on his radio show Monday afternoon, adding that Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) would make a good ticket mate for West.

Beck said West's response to a 2003 incident while he was serving as an Army colonel in Iraq sold him on the first-term Florida Republican. West was hit with a fine and charged with assault after firing a gun over the head of an Iraqi policeman during an interrogation.

"He's not afraid to pull the trigger and he takes responsibility," Beck said of the incident. "That's what I love about him the most."

Both are favorites of Tea Party activists across the country, but West has brushed back the idea of a 2012 presidential run while Bachmann appears increasingly likely to enter the race. The Minnesota Republican was back in Iowa on Monday as part of a lecture series organized by social conservative activists.  

As for Palin, Beck said he thinks she missed an opportunity by not focusing more on policy in her first book.

Libertarian Rep. Ron Paul (R), who is considering a presidential bid, criticized the House Republicans' budget proposal during an appearance in Iowa on Monday. 

Paul said that the proposals from House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and President Obama don't do enough to solve the nation's oncoming fiscal woes.

"Neither of those budgets will solve our problems, won't even come close," Paul said during his talk at the Family Leader Presidential Lecture Series, according to Reuters. 

The veteran congressman often stakes out positions that are antithetical to his party's leaders, but has said he would remain on the Republican ticket should he run for president. 

Paul's position stands out from other potential 2012 GOP contenders, who last week largely praised the proposal to cut $5.8 trillion over 10 years. 

The congressman said that Ryan's budget plan does not do enough to reduce the amount of social welfare provided by the government. Other critics on the right have pointed to the fact it would not balance the federal budget for about two decades. 

His son, Rand Paul (R), a Tea Party-backed senator from Kentucky, is also circulating a "Dear Colleague" letter to members of the upper chamber urging them not to vote for a compromise on government funding for the rest of the fiscal year. 

Ryan spent much of last week defending his drastic proposal, saying that the amount of time his proposal would take to balance the budget is due to the profoundly deep fiscal problems facing the United States.

“This just shows you how deep a hole our country is in,” he said.

Paul said last week he would make a decision by May whether to make his third run for the White House.

Citing the need to "change the political discourse in New Jersey and Washington," nine-time Olympic gold medal winner Carl Lewis is making a run for state Senate in New Jersey as a Democrat this year. 

The New Jersey native and track and field legend announced Monday that he plans to take on Republican state Sen. Dawn Addiego in November.

"It's time to change the political discourse in New Jersey and around the country," Lewis said in a statement. "The people are fed up with their elected officials playing the blame game and treating their political counterparts as enemies."

Local Democratic officials have been working to convince Lewis to make a bid in the hopes of attracting some additional attention and money on the race for the generally Republican-leaning state Senate district.

"I'm proud of where I came from, proud to be back, and ready to step up to serve the taxpayers of this great state that afforded me so many wonderful opportunities," Lewis said.

Rules for the May 5 debate are expected to be announced Monday afternoon.

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Democrats are highlighting Massachusetts GOP Sen. Brown's support for that state's healthcare reform law

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