CAMP HILL—Rick Santorum said his loss in the race for Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate seat in 2007 wasn’t exactly what he wanted, but it was what he needed.

The former Pennsylvania senator and presidential hopeful spoke at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference Saturday morning to a crowd of about 500 supporters.

Santorum touched on topics such as Obamacare and it’s importance in this election, saying it was the signature issue of everything that has gone wrong in America and with the current administration.

He also compared his campaign thus far to Republican race front-runner Mitt Romney . He talked about Romney’s views on Obamacare, calling his health care plan “Romneycare.”

Freedom was another main topic of his speech Saturday morning, which he said is what the founding fathers believed in. He said President Barack Obama has taken that freedom away from people.

“They don’t need a president who they can believe, they need a president who believes in them,” he said.

Santorum said he might make a visit to Penn State “one of these days” before the Pennsylvania primary, he said.