Question: The winner of the 2012 Alabama Republican primary represented what state as United States Senator?
Context: The Alabama Republican Party is the state affiliate of the national Republican Party in Alabama.  It is the dominant (or majority) political party in Alabama.  The state party is governed by the Alabama Republican Executive Committee.  The committee usually meets just twice a year.  Composed of more than 400 members, it is easily the largest Executive Committee in the entire nation.  Most of the committee's members are elected in district elections across Alabama.  The district members are elected in the Republican Primary once every four years with the most recent election for the committee having been on June 3, 2014.  In addition, all 67 County GOP Chairman have automatic seats as voting members.  The State Chairman can appoint 10 members.  Each County Committee can appoint bonus members (maximum of 5 per county) based on a formula that theoretically could add 312 seats, although that formula currently calls for only about 50 seats. The 1996 United States Senate election in Oregon was held on November 5, 1996.  Incumbent Republican United States Senator Mark Hatfield decided to retire after thirty years in the Senate.  Oregon State Senate President Gordon H. Smith, who had run for the Senate earlier that year, won the Republican primary, while businessman Tom Bruggere won a contested Democratic primary.  The contest between Smith and Bruggere was one of the toughest that year, but ultimately, Smith was able to keep the seat in the Republican column and defeated Bruggere by a narrow margin. The Alabama Republican primary, 2008 was held on February 5 (Super Tuesday) and had a total of 45 delegates at stake.  The winner in each of the 7 congressional districts was awarded all of that district's delegates. Irene T. Griffin (July 25, 1899 – April 1983) was an American Republican Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly.  She served one year in the Legislature, but became a bit of a perennial candidate, losing three races for the Assembly, two for the Senate, and one for Congress.  Griffin first ran for the State Assembly in 1942, but lost the Republican primary to future U.S. Senator Clifford P. Case, future State Senator Kenneth Hand, and two others.  When Case ran for Congress in 1944, Griffin ran again and won the nomination and the election.  She did run for a second term in 1945, but sought the Republican nomination for State Senator in 1947, losing to hand in the primary.  She ran again for Assembly in 1951, but lost the primary to incumbent Florence P. Dwyer.  She again challenged Dwyer in 1956, this time in a primary for the U.S. House of Representatives; she lost and Dwyer went on to unseat an incumbent in the general election.  She ran for the Assembly in 1957, upsetting the frontrunner, Nelson Stamler in the Republican primary.  She lost the General Election to Democrat Mildred Barry Hughes.  Griffin lost a State Senate primary in 1962 to Stamler, who had since been elected Assemblyman.  In 1967, she lost a Republican primary for State Assembly to Hugo Pfaltz and Peter J. McDonough by a 2-1 margin. The 2008 Florida Republican primary was held on January 29, 2008, with 57 delegates at stake on a winner-take-all basis.  The Republican National Committee removed half of Florida's delegates because the state committee moved its Republican primary before February 5.  Arizona Senator John McCain was the winner of the primary.  Rudy Giuliani dropped out of the race the next day, due to poor results. The 2012 Florida Republican primary was held on January 31, 2012.  Fifty delegates were at stake, none of them RNC (or super) delegates; it is unclear whether these delegates will be allocated proportionally or winner-take-all.  Originally awarded 99 delegates, the Republican National Committee removed half of Florida's delegates because the state committee moved its Republican primary before March 6; the Republican National Committee rules also set the delegate allocation to be proportional because the contest was held before April 1.  It is a closed primary.  There were 4,063,853 registered Republican voters as of January 3, 2012. The 1996 United States Senate election in Maine was held November 5, 1996.  Incumbent Republican United States Senator William Cohen decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term.  To replace him, United States Congressman and former Governor of Maine Joseph E. Brennan won the Democratic primary while political consultant and 1994 nominee for Governor of Maine Susan Collins won the Republican primary.  A competitive general election ensued, but Collins ultimately won out over Brennan, keeping the seat in the Republican column.  With Collins' election to the Senate in 1996, Maine became only the second state after California to have two sitting women senators. The 2012 Alabama Republican primary took place on 13 March 2012, on the same day as the Mississippi Republican primary and the Hawaii Republican caucuses.  Rick Santorum was declared the winner. The 1996 United States Senate election in Illinois took place on November 5, 1996.  Incumbent Democratic United States Senator Paul Simon opted to retire rather than seek a third term in the United States Senate.  In the Democratic primary, United States Congressman Dick Durbin emerged victorious, while State Representative Al Salvi won the Republican primary.  Though the election was initially anticipated to be close, Durbin ended up defeating Salvi by a comfortable double-digit margin of victory, allowing him to win what would be the first of several terms in the Senate. Richard John Santorum (born May 10, 1958) is an American attorney, author, and politician.  A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator representing Pennsylvania (1995–2007) and was the Senate's third-ranking Republican (2001–07).  He ran as a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination, finishing second to the eventual Republican nominee Mitt Romney.
Answer: Pennsylvania