Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., told supporters near his boyhood home in Cabot, Pa. on Wednesday that he will run for president again in 2016.

Speaking to a crowd at a manufacturing business, Santorum hit a populist tone, appealing to working class Americans.

“Today is the day we are going to begin to fight back,” Santorum said.

Promising to fight as president, Santorum came out swinging, saying he would repeal every executive order and regulation instituted under President Obama. He also called for sweeping reform to the tax code, saying a “simple” flat tax would create millions of jobs.

“Let’s scrap the corrupt federal tax code, and the IRS that goes with it,” Santorum said. “It’s time to give America a simple flat tax.”

Santorum said Americans do not need another president tied to big government and big money.

“Their priority is profit and power. My priority is you, the American worker,” Santorum said, speaking of the Democrats.

Along with jabs at Obama and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, Santorum said those announcing their candidacies in the coming days will ask for trust, but his record in Washington should earn voters’ trust.

Santorum, known for his conservative social policies, will have competition for the nomination from the right, said Mack Shelley, professor of political science.

“He’s working [for support] on the same side as Ted Cruz and a couple others,” Shelley said, adding they are looking for support from the same wing of the party.

Santorum, 57, served two terms in the U.S. House before moving up and serving two terms in the U.S. Senate.

Although some still dispute the results, Santorum emerged as the narrow winner of the Iowa Caucus when he ran for president in 2012.

On election night, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was declared the winner, but the Iowa Republican Party later reversed course and declared Santorum had won by 34 votes.

“Santorum is a more established figure and, of course, since he did well in Iowa last time, I imagine he has a fair number of supporters in the bag already,” Shelley said.

Santorum went on win 11 states before dropping out of the race in April, 2012.

Santorum has shown interest in 2016, traveling to early voting states including Iowa. He appeared at Steve King’s “Iowa Freedom Summit” in January and Bruce Rastetter’s “Iowa Agriculture Summit” in March.

He was also in Story County as recently as mid-May, appearing in Nevada before he spoke at the Iowa GOP’s “Lincoln Dinner” in Des Moines.

Santorum joins an already crowded field of Republican candidates, including U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former HP CEO Carly Fiorina and neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson. Several more, including U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, former New York Gov. George Pataki and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, are expected to join in the coming days.