Mitt Romney presidential campaign, 2008
Encyclopedia
Mitt Romney
was a Republican Party
primary candidate in the 2008 United States presidential election
. On January 3, 2007, two days before he stepped down as governor of Massachusetts, Romney filed to form a presidential exploratory committee
with the Federal Election Commission
. Subsequently, on February 13, 2007, he formally announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president in 2008.
Romney was considered a top-tier candidate in his bid for the Republican nomination, despite hurdles such as low name recognition and questions about his Mormon
faith. Romney partly financed his campaign with his own personal fortune, having contributed over $35 million of the $90 million raised by his campaign, as of January 31, 2008. Despite that, he also raised more money than any other Republican primary candidate.
In a nationwide poll conducted on January 2, 2008, Romney was placed first among Republican voters nationally. However, he came in second in the Iowa caucuses to Mike Huckabee
. Romney followed up with his first win of the campaign season in the Wyoming caucus, although it received little media attention. He then lost the New Hampshire primary
to John McCain
, but won the Nevada Primary
with 51 percent of the vote, with Ron Paul
in second place and John McCain
third, and won the Michigan primary by 9 percentage points, leaving the nomination result up in the air. He then finished fourth in the South Carolina primary
and finished second to McCain in the hotly contested Florida primary, a result which gave McCain the lead in delegates and the status of "frontrunner" heading in to Super Tuesday
.
On February 7, 2008, two days after McCain posted strong gains in the Super Tuesday
primaries, Romney announced the end of his campaign; a week later he endorsed McCain.
, spending over 200 days outside Massachusetts. While he did not run for reelection as governor, in 2004 Romney set up a federal political action committee
(PAC) called the Commonwealth PAC, which raised USD
$2.71 million during the 2006 election cycle.
While testing the waters for his campaign in 2005 and 2006, then Governor Romney was accompanied by Massachusetts state troopers on his cross-country trips. The cost of the Governor's security detail for out-of-state trips increased from $63,874 in fiscal year 2005 to a cost of $103,365 in the first 11 months of fiscal year 2006. Romney's use of state troopers for security during his campaign trips was criticized by former Governor Michael Dukakis
, who never traveled with state troopers during his 1988 presidential run, and Mary Boyle of Common Cause
who complained that "[t]he people of Massachusetts are essentially funding his presidential campaign, whether they like it or not." A Romney spokesman noted that Romney did not accept a salary while he was Governor and that he paid for his personal and political travel, while the superintendent of the State Police pointed out that the Governor never requested the security and that the security detail followed the Governor on all trips in the post 9/11 world.
On January 3, 2007, his next-to-last day in office as governor of Massachusetts, Romney filed to form a presidential exploratory committee
with the Federal Election Commission
. Via the campaign committee press release announcing the establishment of the exploratory committee, Romney made it clear that it is a mere formality to announce a run for president, and that an announcement merely entails changing the name of the existing reporting entity, from "Romney for President Exploratory Committee, Inc." to "Romney for President Committee, Inc." and that money raised by the exploratory committee is the same account and entity as the money raised after any announcement, and of no consequence to the Federal Elections Commission.
.
In his speech, Romney frequently invoked his father, former Michigan Governor George W. Romney
(whose own presidential campaign had come undone forty years earlier
), and the stage included a Nash Rambler
, the car his father had made famous as an automobile executive. Romney stressed the variety of his own experiences that brought him to this point:
Overall, Romney struck an optimistic tone for his candidacy and for the future of the country. His wife Ann Romney
also spoke at the announcement event.
(CPAC) Straw Poll. He received 21% of the vote. Rudy Giuliani
received 17%, Senator Sam Brownback
received 15%, and Senator John McCain
received 12%. 1,705 attendees voted.
Romney held numerous "Ask Mitt Anything" sessions in his 2008 campaign. The first "Ask Mitt Anything" session was held on April 3, 2007, in Derry
, New Hampshire
, and his second the following day in Urbandale
, Iowa
. The sessions were open forums that allow opportunities for locals to ask Romney questions pertaining to his views and policies. One of the first "Ask Mitt Anything" events in New Hampshire
was held at Saint Anselm College
as seen in the image to the right. Sessions were held in almost every state Romney visited, including locations such as town halls, restaurants, universities, hotels, and music halls. In preparation for the Ames Straw Poll
, Romney held a three-day, 14-city "Ask Mitt Anything" Iowa tour leading up to the poll.
In June 2007, a section of a four-part series on Romney from the Boston Globe documented how during a family vacation taken in 1983, Romney strapped a kennel with his dog Seamus to the roof of his station wagon for the 12-hour trip from Massachusetts to Ontario
. Presented in the articles as an example of Romney's ability to deal with trying circumstances, the incident received nationwide media attention when journalists and animal activists criticized Romney's strapping of the dog to the roof for a 12-hour summer trip. Romney said that the dog had a windshield and he "jumped right in" and loved the ride.
On July 4, 2007, the Romney campaign officially launched the "Mitt Mobile, A Five Brothers Bus", referring to Romney's five sons and his official campaign blog, Five Brothers. When asked why his sons were not fighting in Iraq, Romney replied that his sons were supporting America by riding from town to town in the "Five Brothers Bus," saying "One of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping me get elected." Romney later apologized and said he misspoke and that there is no comparison to the sacrifice that military persons make. The RV, a Winnebago
made in Iowa
, had a large map of Iowa on the back and a Romney family portrait on the side with the label "Mitt Mobile", "A Five Brothers Bus". The Mitt Mobile was planned to visit all of Iowa's ninety-nine counties. Each county was checked off on the large map on the back of the RV once it was visited. On August 11, 2007, the Mitt Mobile visited Iowa's ninety-ninth county at the Ames Straw Poll
. The Mitt Mobile is planned to also tour Florida
, New Hampshire
, South Carolina
, and other key primary states. The Mitt Mobile has been a large success in attracting attention, and was even featured on Fox News' On the Record with Greta Van Susteren. Susteren interviewed Matt, Josh, and Craig Romney and toured and drove the Mitt Mobile.
On August 11, 2007, Mitt Romney won the Ames Straw Poll
. He received 31.5% of the vote at the Straw Poll. Mike Huckabee
came in second and received 18%, a larger margin than that of George W. Bush
and Steve Forbes
in the 2000 election, which had a margin of 10%. However, by December 7, 2007, Romney had slipped behind Mike Huckabee
in polls conducted nationally as well as in Iowa.
In his "Faith in America" address, Romney claimed "I saw my father march with Martin Luther King." In a December 16, 2007, interview with Tim Russert
, Romney repeated his claim that his "dad marched with Martin Luther King." An article published by The Phoenix
on December 19, 2007, argues that while David S. Broder "references a 1967 book he co-authored on the Republican Party, which included a chapter on George Romney [...with] a one-line statement that the senior Romney 'has marched with Martin Luther King through the exclusive Grosse Pointe suburb of Detroit',” historical sources found by The Phoenix found no references to George Romney having marched with Martin Luther King and that it was unlikely that a Governor and former Presidential candidate would go unnoticed. The Phoenix also discovered that Dr. King did not visit Grosse Pointe
until after Broder's book was published. The Detroit Free Press
reported on December 20, 2007 that the Romney campaign later asserted that when Romney made these two statements to a national audience about his father marching with King that he was "speaking figuratively, not literally." Subsequently, The Politico
reported that at least two witnesses did remember George Romney and King marching together. and the Romney campaign put out a string of citations affirming them appearing together and George Romney's commitment to civil rights in general. In November 2007, the New York Times reported that Mitt Romney had participated with his father in civil rights marches.
to begin airing TV and radio advertisements, beginning in February 2007. His advertisements, most of which focus primarily on Romney's conservative credentials, have aired mainly in Iowa
and New Hampshire
, which experts credit with helping his early lead in those and other early primary states. Romney's campaign advisors explained that their early advertisement push was to make up for Romney being relatively unknown compared to contenders Rudy Giuliani
, John McCain
, and Fred Thompson. On September 4, 2007, Romney was estimated to have spent $2 million in advertisements in Iowa and New Hampshire.
In mid-August 2007, Romney began broadcasting advertisements in Iowa and New Hampshire that criticized what he called the sanctuary city
policies of several cities. "Immigration laws don't work if they're ignored. That's the problem with cities like Newark, San Francisco and New York City that adopt amnesty policies." He went on to say, "Sanctuary cities become magnets that encourage illegal immigration and undermine secure borders." The New York Daily News
termed the ad a "thinly veiled attack on GOP
presidential rival Rudy Giuliani who is competing for conservatives who want a crackdown on illegal immigration."
Romney, on September 5, 2007, began advertising in South Carolina
, the early primary state where he was doing the poorest. During the second week of September, he expanded his advertising to Florida
, showing the "Energy" ad which he debuted in Iowa and New Hampshire and also began showing in South Carolina. The ad features Romney jogging and highlights his career as governor of Massachusetts, running the Salt Lake Olympics, and the private sector.
In late January 2008 the Romney campaign aired advertisements that cited McCain's calling Massachusetts Democratic Senator John Kerry
"a very close friend of mine. We've been friends for years. Obviously, I would entertain it [a hypothetical invitation from Kerry to serve as his vice-president]."
On June 22, 2007, news organizations reported that one of Romney's top campaign aides was being investigated for having possibly impersonated a state trooper in Massachusetts. Jay Garrity, director of campaign operations for Romney, was named in the investigation by state police. Garrity had been investigated three years earlier for possessing police equipment and lights, while he was an aide to Governor Romney. The Associated Press also reported that the New Hampshire attorney general was opening an investigation into Garrity possibly pulling over a New York Times reporter in that state and saying that he had run the reporter's license plate. The Romney campaign denied the incident. Garrity was ultimately exonerated in both investigations: Prosecutors in Massachusetts found “no evidence” to connect Garrity with the still unknown individual who impersonated a state trooper; and the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office issued a release stating that "the investigation into Garrity reveals that no crime was committed with respect to Garrity’s encounter"
, the first contest of the primary elections, Romney received 25% of the vote and placed second to Mike Huckabee, who received 34%. The result was seen as disappointing as Romney spent about five times more than the former Arkansas governor in Iowa and had banked on wins in both Iowa and New Hampshire to propel him to an overall victory. Twelve of Iowa's delegates were awarded to Romney for his second place finish.
Two days later, Romney won the Wyoming caucuses with 67% of the vote and the first delegate to the Republican National Convention
by receiving eight of the twelve delegates for the state.
Three days after the Wyoming caucus, Romney placed second, gathering 32% of the vote to John McCain's 37%, in the New Hampshire primary
and received four of New Hampshire's twelve delegates. On the day of the New Hampshire primary, Romney had reached a new high in support according to one daily tracking poll.
On January 15, Romney won the Michigan primary
taking 39% and 24 delegates. He collected over 325,000 votes, more than any candidate in any primary up until that point. Romney gained another win in the Nevada caucus
on January 19 with 51% of the vote, but came in fourth in South Carolina primary
with 15% of the vote.
On January 29, Romney came in second to John McCain in the Florida primary
. McCain gained 36% of the vote to Romney's 31%. The race was contentious, with each candidate labeling the other a "liberal". After Florida, McCain was the clear frontrunner for the nomination, and had the most delegates to the national convention heading in to the possibly-decisive February 5 Super Tuesday
contests. 21 states would hold Republican primaries that day.
On February 2, Romney won the Maine Republican Caucus
with 52% of the votes.
On February 4, Mike Huckabee
one of Romney's rivals in the primary accused Romney of voter suppression
, saying that Romney and his political surrogates should stop telling voters "a vote for Huckabee is a vote for McCain
", Romney's other chief rival. Huckabee also said Romney was being "presumptuous and arrogant" thinking his supporters would vote for Romney if Huckabee left the race.
On February 5, Super Tuesday
, Romney won in the Alaska, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and Utah caucuses and primaries. However, his chief rival, John McCain
, strengthened his lead by winning Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, and Oklahoma.
Romney won 11 states primaries and caucuses, 4.7 million votes and 291 delegates.
On February 14, 2008, Romney endorsed McCain as his choice for the GOP's presidential nominee, and urged his supporters to do likewise
On January 9, 2007, Romney held his first fundraiser for his presidential campaign committee, bringing in $6.5 million, exceeding the amounts raised by other Republican Party contenders for the nomination; John McCain
and Rudy Giuliani
were reported to have raised $2 million and $1 million respectively. In Romney's 2002 run in the Massachusetts election, Mitt Romney contributed 65% of $9,456,557 raised for the Governor's race.
, who reported raising $26 million and $25 million, respectively, in the same period. Romney also reported a $2.35 million personal contribution to his campaign committee. Romney, a former venture capitalist with significant personal wealth (at least $250 million) and assets, had previously dismissed the notion of substantially self-funding his campaign but justified the expenditure in the interest of "seeding" interest in his candidacy. Romney raised the most money from Wall Street
of all presidential candidates during the first quarter, with $1.9 million raised.
Meg Whitman
, CEO of eBay
, signed on as a financial co-chairwoman of his presidential campaign. She is a former co-worker of Romney's at Bain Capital
.
When fundraising results from the second quarter were released, Romney had lent a total of $8.9 million to his campaign from his personal funds. From April to June, he spent $20.7 million, more than any other Republican candidate.
Had Romney won the nomination, he would have been the first Mormon on a major party's presidential ticket. In pursuing the Republican Party presidential nomination, he was following in the footsteps of his father, George W. Romney
, who ran for the White House in 1968 and lost
; fellow Latter-day Saint Orrin Hatch
of Utah, who ran in 2000 and lost; and Joseph Smith
, who ran in 1844 but was eliminated from the race when he was killed by a mob. In contrast to Hatch's 2000 attempt or Smith's 1844 attempt, Romney was felt to be a major contender and so the effect his religion would have on the election came under serious consideration by pundits. As of September 2007, 75% of the American electorate professed that Mormonism in a candidate would not affect their vote.
Romney may have been challenged by voters with the concern that a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would take commandments from the president of the church who is regarded as a living prophet. In an interview aired on Fox News Romney said, "America has a political religion, which is to place the oath of office, an oath to abide by a nation of laws and the Constitution, above all others. And there's no question that I make that my primary responsibility." Mike Otterson, an LDS spokesman, said, "The suggestion that a Mormon leader would dictate policy to a President Romney is absurd. I can't imagine any president that would allow that." During the 1960 presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy
, similar allegations were made that a Roman Catholic would take orders from the Pope
.
In 2006, the Boston Globe reported that Mitt Romney's son, Josh Romney, and a member of Romney's political action committee in his Salt Lake City office September 19, 2007, did meet with Jeffrey R. Holland
, an apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to discuss Romney's campaign. According to the Church, the meeting was a courtesy call and that Jeffrey R. Holland reminded the Romneys of the Church's longstanding policy of political neutrality.
Romney's campaign speeches sometimes contained a standard response to the religion issue as a whole: "I believe in God. I believe in the family. I believe in America's future. It has a great role to preserve the peace on the planet. So the kinds of values I have are very much in line with those of the American people. My guess is as they get to know me better, there will be other faults that they find more troubling."
In October 2006, Romney asked to meet with a group of influential Christian leaders, including Jerry Falwell
, Franklin Graham
, Gary Bauer, and Paula White to discuss his presidential candidacy. About a dozen accepted and traveled at their own expense to Boston, gathering at Romney's home in Belmont, Mass. A prominent Evangelical leader, Dr. James Dobson, has not ruled out supporting him, while at the same time, Dobson has ruled out supporting Fred Thompson, John McCain and Rudy Giuliani.
Mitt Romney gave a speech entitled "Faith in America," Thursday, December 6 at the George Herbert Walker Bush Presidential Library
in Texas, with the former president providing introductory remarks. The speech, which was widely regarded as referencing that of then-Senator John F. Kennedy
's September 1960 pledge not to allow Catholic doctrine to inform policy, discussed the role of religion in American society and politics; Romney said he would not allow any authorities from any religion, including his own, to influence presidential decisions. He avoided speaking about specific Latter-day Saint doctrines, as he stated that by forcing him to become the spokesperson for his faith, it would be enabling "the very religious test the founders prohibited in the Constitution." Instead, he addressed religion in general, saying "Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom.".
In December 2007, rival candidate, Mike Huckabee, when asked by the New York Times if he personally considered the LDS faith a cult or a religion, Huckabee said he believed it was a religion despite his lack of knowledge, but then followed up by asking, "Don’t Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?"
Thereafter on December 12, upon the conclusion of a Republican debate in Iowa, Huckabee personally apologized to Romney. The next morning on MSNBC Huckabee said, "It was never my intention to denigrate his faith... I raised it not to create a story. I thought we were having a simple, casual conversation... I don't think his Mormon faith should have anything to do with him being elected."
But then Mr. Huckabee accused Mr. Romney of running a negative campaign. "We run a positive campaign, more so frankly than Mitt, who's running ads against me and dropping fliers in Iowa," he said.
An opinion piece in the December 14 New York Times quotes Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics
, describing such apologies as "nonapology apologies.... They're proving they're not sincere by continuing to raise the subjects. Once you apologize, you should avoid the subject like the plague... It’s no accident they continue to bring these things up... There is a strong prejudice among many fundamentalist Christians against Mormonism."
In January 2008, fellow presidential candidate Ron Paul
expressed concerns that Romney's religion might be affecting how the other candidates treat him. "One thing I'm a little bit afraid of is that they might be doing that for religious reasons, and I don't like that."
According to political scientist and commentator Larry Sabato
, "One reason Romney pulled out of South Carolina was that he could not overcome the palpable prejudice that evangelical Christians have about his religion, and South Carolina's view is shared throughout much of the South and elsewhere. Partly as a consequence, Romney shows up in national polls as the weakest of the major Republican candidates...."
for her "partisan" trip to Syria, but he did not mention that a Republican was a member of her delegation, or that a separate Republican-led delegation had met with the Syrian President three days before Pelosi did.
On May 5, 2007, in a graduation speech at Regent University
, a conservative Christian institution founded by evangelist Pat Robertson
, Romney extolled marriage and the family and criticized those who choose to remain single because they enjoy "the single life." He added, ”It seems that Europe leads Americans in this way of thinking. In France, for instance, I’m told that marriage is now frequently contracted in seven-year terms where either party may move on when their term is up. How shallow and how different from the Europe of the past.”
along with the other Republican presidential contenders. The debate was sponsored by MSNBC
, politico.com, the Reagan Presidential Library, and Nancy Reagan
.
Romney also participated in the second 2008 Republican Candidates Debate on May 15, 2007 at the University of South Carolina
. When Brit Hume
asked about the use of "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques" including waterboarding
on captured terrorists, Romney replied that the real key is prevention through counterintelligence, adding that "we ought to double Guantanamo." His full quote is:
During the debate Romney also said, "There is a global jihadist effort. And they’ve come together as Shia and Sunni and Hezbollah and Hamas
and the Muslim Brotherhood
and Al Qaeda with that intent."
near Manchester, New Hampshire
, Romney responded to a question that asked if within hindsight, should Iraq have been invaded. CNN
and Media Matters
pointed out that Romney's answer to the question was incorrect. He said that if events occurred differently, with Saddam Hussein
allowing UN inspectors into his country, Iraq would not have had to have been invaded. It was pointed out by watchers in the media that Hussein did in fact allow UN weapons inspectors into Iraq, and they found little evidence of weapons of mass destruction. CNN analyst Paul Begala
said the misstatement would disqualify Romney if it had occurred in a general election debate, and it was akin to saying "the Mexicans bombed Pearl Harbor." Romney's full statement was:
posed by an animated snowman.)
However, Romney soon changed his stance, and he did participate in the debate, held in Durham, New Hampshire
on September 5, 2007. This debate was cosponsored by Fox News rather than CNN and was somewhat more conventional than the earlier debate on CNN.
s running tally of endorsements from members of Congress showed Romney leading McCain 38 to 28 for the lead among Republican candidates. Conservatives in the Republican coalesced around Romney after the January 29 Florida primary. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum
endorsed Romney on the talk radio show of Laura Ingraham
. The talk radio
community, Rush Limbaugh
, Sean Hannity
, William Bennett
, Mark Levin
, Dennis Prager
, Glenn Beck
, Hugh Hewitt
and Laura Ingraham
endorsed Romney, in an anti-McCain move. In spite of their efforts, Romney was out of the race and McCain became the presumptive nominee less than two weeks after Florida.
(See also Congressional endorsements for the 2008 presidential election.)
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
was a Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
primary candidate in the 2008 United States presidential election
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
. On January 3, 2007, two days before he stepped down as governor of Massachusetts, Romney filed to form a presidential exploratory committee
Exploratory Committee
In the election politics of the United States, an exploratory committee is an organization established to help determine whether a potential candidate should run for an elected office. They are most often cited in reference to United States Presidential hopefuls, prior to the primaries.Exploratory...
with the Federal Election Commission
Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...
. Subsequently, on February 13, 2007, he formally announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president in 2008.
Romney was considered a top-tier candidate in his bid for the Republican nomination, despite hurdles such as low name recognition and questions about his Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
faith. Romney partly financed his campaign with his own personal fortune, having contributed over $35 million of the $90 million raised by his campaign, as of January 31, 2008. Despite that, he also raised more money than any other Republican primary candidate.
In a nationwide poll conducted on January 2, 2008, Romney was placed first among Republican voters nationally. However, he came in second in the Iowa caucuses to Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
. Romney followed up with his first win of the campaign season in the Wyoming caucus, although it received little media attention. He then lost the New Hampshire primary
New Hampshire primary
The New Hampshire primary is the first in a series of nationwide political party primary elections held in the United States every four years , as part of the process of choosing the Democratic and Republican nominees for the presidential elections to be held the subsequent November.Although only a...
to John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, but won the Nevada Primary
Nevada Republican caucuses, 2008
The Nevada Republican caucuses, 2008 was held on January 19, the same day as the 2008 South Carolina Republican primary, with 31 delegates at stake. Mitt Romney was the winner in Nevada with 51% of the votes, with Ron Paul in second place. Half of Romney's votes came from Mormons, while two-thirds...
with 51 percent of the vote, with Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
in second place and John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
third, and won the Michigan primary by 9 percentage points, leaving the nomination result up in the air. He then finished fourth in the South Carolina primary
South Carolina primary
The South Carolina presidential primary has become one of several key early state nominating contests in the process of choosing nominees of the Democratic and Republican parties for the following election for President of the United States....
and finished second to McCain in the hotly contested Florida primary, a result which gave McCain the lead in delegates and the status of "frontrunner" heading in to Super Tuesday
Super Tuesday
In the United States, Super Tuesday, in general, refers to the Tuesday in February or March of a presidential election year when the greatest number of states hold primary elections to select delegates to national conventions at which each party's presidential candidates are officially nominated...
.
On February 7, 2008, two days after McCain posted strong gains in the Super Tuesday
Super Tuesday
In the United States, Super Tuesday, in general, refers to the Tuesday in February or March of a presidential election year when the greatest number of states hold primary elections to select delegates to national conventions at which each party's presidential candidates are officially nominated...
primaries, Romney announced the end of his campaign; a week later he endorsed McCain.
Before the announcement
Romney spent a considerable amount of time giving political speeches in key primary battleground states. Romney traveled the country during the 2006 election cycle to campaign for gubernatorial candidates as chairman of the Republican Governors AssociationRepublican Governors Association
The Republican Governors Association is a Washington, D.C.-based 527 organization founded in 1963, consisting of U.S. state and territorial governors affiliated with the Republican Party.Its Democratic Party counterpart is the Democratic Governors Association...
, spending over 200 days outside Massachusetts. While he did not run for reelection as governor, in 2004 Romney set up a federal political action committee
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
(PAC) called the Commonwealth PAC, which raised USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
$2.71 million during the 2006 election cycle.
While testing the waters for his campaign in 2005 and 2006, then Governor Romney was accompanied by Massachusetts state troopers on his cross-country trips. The cost of the Governor's security detail for out-of-state trips increased from $63,874 in fiscal year 2005 to a cost of $103,365 in the first 11 months of fiscal year 2006. Romney's use of state troopers for security during his campaign trips was criticized by former Governor Michael Dukakis
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...
, who never traveled with state troopers during his 1988 presidential run, and Mary Boyle of Common Cause
Common Cause
Common Cause is a self-described nonpartisan, nonprofit lobby and advocacy organization. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican former cabinet secretary under Lyndon Johnson, as a "citizens' lobby" with a mission focused on making U.S. political institutions more open and...
who complained that "[t]he people of Massachusetts are essentially funding his presidential campaign, whether they like it or not." A Romney spokesman noted that Romney did not accept a salary while he was Governor and that he paid for his personal and political travel, while the superintendent of the State Police pointed out that the Governor never requested the security and that the security detail followed the Governor on all trips in the post 9/11 world.
On January 3, 2007, his next-to-last day in office as governor of Massachusetts, Romney filed to form a presidential exploratory committee
Exploratory Committee
In the election politics of the United States, an exploratory committee is an organization established to help determine whether a potential candidate should run for an elected office. They are most often cited in reference to United States Presidential hopefuls, prior to the primaries.Exploratory...
with the Federal Election Commission
Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...
. Via the campaign committee press release announcing the establishment of the exploratory committee, Romney made it clear that it is a mere formality to announce a run for president, and that an announcement merely entails changing the name of the existing reporting entity, from "Romney for President Exploratory Committee, Inc." to "Romney for President Committee, Inc." and that money raised by the exploratory committee is the same account and entity as the money raised after any announcement, and of no consequence to the Federal Elections Commission.
Announcement
On February 13, 2007, Romney formally announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president in 2008. Romney made his announcement at The Henry Ford Museum of Innovation in Dearborn, MichiganDearborn, Michigan
-Economy:Ford Motor Company has its world headquarters in Dearborn. In addition its Dearborn campus contains many research, testing, finance and some production facilities. Ford Land controls the numerous properties owned by Ford including sales and leasing to unrelated businesses such as the...
.
In his speech, Romney frequently invoked his father, former Michigan Governor George W. Romney
George W. Romney
George Wilcken Romney was an American businessman and Republican Party politician. He was chairman and CEO of American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1962, the 43rd Governor of Michigan from 1963 to 1969, and the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1969 to 1973...
(whose own presidential campaign had come undone forty years earlier
George Romney presidential campaign, 1968
George Romney ran for the 1968 Republican Party nomination in the 1968 United States presidential election.Romney was the Governor of Michigan and a renowned automaker who focused his campaign on the issues of fiscal responsibility, welfare reform and the Vietnam War...
), and the stage included a Nash Rambler
Nash Rambler
The Nash Rambler was a North American automobile produced by the Nash Motors division of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation from 1950–55.The Nash Rambler established a new segment in the automobile market and is widely acknowledged to be the first successful modern American compact...
, the car his father had made famous as an automobile executive. Romney stressed the variety of his own experiences that brought him to this point:
"Throughout my life, I have pursued innovation and transformation. It's taught me the vital lessons that come only from experience, from failures and from successes, from the private, public and voluntary sectors, from small and large enterprise, from leading a state, from actually being in the arena, not just talking about it."
Overall, Romney struck an optimistic tone for his candidacy and for the future of the country. His wife Ann Romney
Ann Romney
Ann Romney is the wife of American businessman and Republican Party politician Mitt Romney. From 2003 to 2007 she was First Lady of Massachusetts....
also spoke at the announcement event.
Campaign developments 2007
Romney on March 3, 2007 won the Conservative Political Action ConferenceConservative Political Action Conference
The Conservative Political Action Conference is an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States....
(CPAC) Straw Poll. He received 21% of the vote. Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
received 17%, Senator Sam Brownback
Sam Brownback
Samuel Dale "Sam" Brownback is the 46th and current Governor of Kansas. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011, and as a U.S. Representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district from 1995 to 1996...
received 15%, and Senator John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
received 12%. 1,705 attendees voted.
Derry, New Hampshire
-Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 33,109 people, 12,537 households, and 8,767 families residing in the town. The population density was 924.8 people per square mile . There were 13,277 housing units at an average density of 143.2/km²...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, and his second the following day in Urbandale
Urbandale, Iowa
Urbandale is a city in Polk and Dallas counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 29,072; a special census taken by the city in 2005 counted 35,904 residents and the United States Census Bureau estimated that 38,369 residents lived there in 2008...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. The sessions were open forums that allow opportunities for locals to ask Romney questions pertaining to his views and policies. One of the first "Ask Mitt Anything" events in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
was held at Saint Anselm College
Saint Anselm College
Saint Anselm College is a nationally ranked, private, Benedictine, Catholic liberal arts college in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Founded in 1889 by Abbot Hilary Pfrängle, O.S.B. of Saint Mary's Abbey in Newark, New Jersey, at the request of Bishop Denis M. Bradley of Manchester, New Hampshire, the...
as seen in the image to the right. Sessions were held in almost every state Romney visited, including locations such as town halls, restaurants, universities, hotels, and music halls. In preparation for the Ames Straw Poll
Ames Straw Poll
The Ames Straw Poll is a presidential straw poll taken by Iowa Republicans. It occurs in Ames, Iowa on the campus of Iowa State University, on a Saturday in August of years in an election cycle in which the Republican presidential nomination seems to be undecided...
, Romney held a three-day, 14-city "Ask Mitt Anything" Iowa tour leading up to the poll.
In June 2007, a section of a four-part series on Romney from the Boston Globe documented how during a family vacation taken in 1983, Romney strapped a kennel with his dog Seamus to the roof of his station wagon for the 12-hour trip from Massachusetts to Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. Presented in the articles as an example of Romney's ability to deal with trying circumstances, the incident received nationwide media attention when journalists and animal activists criticized Romney's strapping of the dog to the roof for a 12-hour summer trip. Romney said that the dog had a windshield and he "jumped right in" and loved the ride.
On July 4, 2007, the Romney campaign officially launched the "Mitt Mobile, A Five Brothers Bus", referring to Romney's five sons and his official campaign blog, Five Brothers. When asked why his sons were not fighting in Iraq, Romney replied that his sons were supporting America by riding from town to town in the "Five Brothers Bus," saying "One of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping me get elected." Romney later apologized and said he misspoke and that there is no comparison to the sacrifice that military persons make. The RV, a Winnebago
Ho-Chunk
The Ho-Chunk, also known as Winnebago, are a tribe of Native Americans, native to what is now Wisconsin and Illinois. There are two federally recognized Ho-Chunk tribes, the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska....
made in Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, had a large map of Iowa on the back and a Romney family portrait on the side with the label "Mitt Mobile", "A Five Brothers Bus". The Mitt Mobile was planned to visit all of Iowa's ninety-nine counties. Each county was checked off on the large map on the back of the RV once it was visited. On August 11, 2007, the Mitt Mobile visited Iowa's ninety-ninth county at the Ames Straw Poll
Ames Straw Poll
The Ames Straw Poll is a presidential straw poll taken by Iowa Republicans. It occurs in Ames, Iowa on the campus of Iowa State University, on a Saturday in August of years in an election cycle in which the Republican presidential nomination seems to be undecided...
. The Mitt Mobile is planned to also tour Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, and other key primary states. The Mitt Mobile has been a large success in attracting attention, and was even featured on Fox News' On the Record with Greta Van Susteren. Susteren interviewed Matt, Josh, and Craig Romney and toured and drove the Mitt Mobile.
Ames Straw Poll
The Ames Straw Poll is a presidential straw poll taken by Iowa Republicans. It occurs in Ames, Iowa on the campus of Iowa State University, on a Saturday in August of years in an election cycle in which the Republican presidential nomination seems to be undecided...
. He received 31.5% of the vote at the Straw Poll. Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
came in second and received 18%, a larger margin than that of George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and Steve Forbes
Steve Forbes
Malcolm Stevenson "Steve" Forbes, Jr. is an American editor, publisher, and businessman. He is the editor-in-chief of business magazine Forbes as well as president and chief executive officer of its publisher, Forbes Inc. He was a Republican candidate in the U.S. Presidential primaries in 1996...
in the 2000 election, which had a margin of 10%. However, by December 7, 2007, Romney had slipped behind Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
in polls conducted nationally as well as in Iowa.
In his "Faith in America" address, Romney claimed "I saw my father march with Martin Luther King." In a December 16, 2007, interview with Tim Russert
Tim Russert
Timothy John "Tim" Russert was an American television journalist and lawyer who appeared for more than 16 years as the longest-serving moderator of NBC's Meet the Press. He was a senior vice president at NBC News, Washington bureau chief and also hosted the eponymous CNBC/MSNBC weekend interview...
, Romney repeated his claim that his "dad marched with Martin Luther King." An article published by The Phoenix
The Phoenix (newspaper)
The Phoenix is the name of several alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts including the Boston Phoenix, the Providence Phoenix, the Portland Phoenix and the now-defunct Worcester Phoenix...
on December 19, 2007, argues that while David S. Broder "references a 1967 book he co-authored on the Republican Party, which included a chapter on George Romney [...with] a one-line statement that the senior Romney 'has marched with Martin Luther King through the exclusive Grosse Pointe suburb of Detroit',” historical sources found by The Phoenix found no references to George Romney having marched with Martin Luther King and that it was unlikely that a Governor and former Presidential candidate would go unnoticed. The Phoenix also discovered that Dr. King did not visit Grosse Pointe
Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Grosse Pointe is a suburban city bordering Detroit in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city covers just over one square mile, and had a population of 5,421 at the 2010 census. It is bordered on the west by Grosse Pointe Park, on the north by Detroit, on the east by Grosse Pointe...
until after Broder's book was published. The Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
reported on December 20, 2007 that the Romney campaign later asserted that when Romney made these two statements to a national audience about his father marching with King that he was "speaking figuratively, not literally." Subsequently, The Politico
The Politico
The Politico is an American political journalism organization based in Arlington, Virginia, that distributes its content via television, the Internet, newspaper, and radio. Its coverage of Washington, D.C., includes the U.S. Congress, lobbying, media and the Presidency...
reported that at least two witnesses did remember George Romney and King marching together. and the Romney campaign put out a string of citations affirming them appearing together and George Romney's commitment to civil rights in general. In November 2007, the New York Times reported that Mitt Romney had participated with his father in civil rights marches.
Advertisements
Mitt Romney was the first candidate in the 2008 electionUnited States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
to begin airing TV and radio advertisements, beginning in February 2007. His advertisements, most of which focus primarily on Romney's conservative credentials, have aired mainly in Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
and New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, which experts credit with helping his early lead in those and other early primary states. Romney's campaign advisors explained that their early advertisement push was to make up for Romney being relatively unknown compared to contenders Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
, John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, and Fred Thompson. On September 4, 2007, Romney was estimated to have spent $2 million in advertisements in Iowa and New Hampshire.
In mid-August 2007, Romney began broadcasting advertisements in Iowa and New Hampshire that criticized what he called the sanctuary city
Sanctuary city
Sanctuary city is a term given to a city in the United States that follows certain practices that protect illegal immigrants. These practices can be by law or they can be by habit...
policies of several cities. "Immigration laws don't work if they're ignored. That's the problem with cities like Newark, San Francisco and New York City that adopt amnesty policies." He went on to say, "Sanctuary cities become magnets that encourage illegal immigration and undermine secure borders." The New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
termed the ad a "thinly veiled attack on GOP
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
presidential rival Rudy Giuliani who is competing for conservatives who want a crackdown on illegal immigration."
Romney, on September 5, 2007, began advertising in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, the early primary state where he was doing the poorest. During the second week of September, he expanded his advertising to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, showing the "Energy" ad which he debuted in Iowa and New Hampshire and also began showing in South Carolina. The ad features Romney jogging and highlights his career as governor of Massachusetts, running the Salt Lake Olympics, and the private sector.
In late January 2008 the Romney campaign aired advertisements that cited McCain's calling Massachusetts Democratic Senator John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
"a very close friend of mine. We've been friends for years. Obviously, I would entertain it [a hypothetical invitation from Kerry to serve as his vice-president]."
Campaign staff and advisors
- Beth Meyers, campaign manager (worked for Karl RoveKarl RoveKarl Christian Rove was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff to former President George W. Bush until Rove's resignation on August 31, 2007. He has headed the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Public Liaison, and the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives...
in the 1980s, and had long been a campaign advisor) - Cofer BlackCofer BlackJoseph Cofer Black is an American counter-terrorism expert and consultant. He had a 28-year career in the Directorate of Operations at the Central Intelligence Agency, culminating in his appointment as Director of the CIA's Counterterrorist Center in June 1999...
, Vice Chairman of Blackwater WorldwideBlackwater WorldwideXe Services LLC, better known by its former names, Blackwater USA and Blackwater Worldwide, is a private military company founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark.. Xe is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department's three private security contractors...
as Counter-Terrorism Policy Advisor - Elizabeth CheneyElizabeth CheneyElizabeth Cheney Perry , commonly called Liz, is an American attorney. During the George W. Bush administration years, she held positions in the State Department of the United States...
, daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, as senior foreign policy advisor - An assemblage of others
On June 22, 2007, news organizations reported that one of Romney's top campaign aides was being investigated for having possibly impersonated a state trooper in Massachusetts. Jay Garrity, director of campaign operations for Romney, was named in the investigation by state police. Garrity had been investigated three years earlier for possessing police equipment and lights, while he was an aide to Governor Romney. The Associated Press also reported that the New Hampshire attorney general was opening an investigation into Garrity possibly pulling over a New York Times reporter in that state and saying that he had run the reporter's license plate. The Romney campaign denied the incident. Garrity was ultimately exonerated in both investigations: Prosecutors in Massachusetts found “no evidence” to connect Garrity with the still unknown individual who impersonated a state trooper; and the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office issued a release stating that "the investigation into Garrity reveals that no crime was committed with respect to Garrity’s encounter"
Caucus and primary results 2008
In the January 3, Iowa caucusIowa Republican caucuses, 2008
The 2008 Iowa Republican caucuses took place on January 4, 2008. The Iowa Republican caucuses are an unofficial primary, with the delegates to the state convention selected proportionally via a straw poll...
, the first contest of the primary elections, Romney received 25% of the vote and placed second to Mike Huckabee, who received 34%. The result was seen as disappointing as Romney spent about five times more than the former Arkansas governor in Iowa and had banked on wins in both Iowa and New Hampshire to propel him to an overall victory. Twelve of Iowa's delegates were awarded to Romney for his second place finish.
Two days later, Romney won the Wyoming caucuses with 67% of the vote and the first delegate to the Republican National Convention
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...
by receiving eight of the twelve delegates for the state.
Three days after the Wyoming caucus, Romney placed second, gathering 32% of the vote to John McCain's 37%, in the New Hampshire primary
New Hampshire Republican primary, 2008
The 2008 New Hampshire Republican primary took place on January 8, 2008, with 12 national delegates being allocated proportionally to the popular vote...
and received four of New Hampshire's twelve delegates. On the day of the New Hampshire primary, Romney had reached a new high in support according to one daily tracking poll.
Michigan Republican primary, 2008
The 2008 Michigan Republican primary took place on January 15, 2008. Mitt Romney came in first with 39 percent of the vote, followed by John McCain with 30 percent and Mike Huckabee in third-place with 16 percent...
taking 39% and 24 delegates. He collected over 325,000 votes, more than any candidate in any primary up until that point. Romney gained another win in the Nevada caucus
Nevada Republican caucuses, 2008
The Nevada Republican caucuses, 2008 was held on January 19, the same day as the 2008 South Carolina Republican primary, with 31 delegates at stake. Mitt Romney was the winner in Nevada with 51% of the votes, with Ron Paul in second place. Half of Romney's votes came from Mormons, while two-thirds...
on January 19 with 51% of the vote, but came in fourth in South Carolina primary
South Carolina Republican primary, 2008
The South Carolina Republican primary, 2008 was held on January 19, with 24 delegates at stake. The Republican National Committee took half of South Carolina's 47 delegates away from them because the state committee moved its Republican primary before February 5...
with 15% of the vote.
On January 29, Romney came in second to John McCain in the Florida primary
Florida Republican primary, 2008
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...
. McCain gained 36% of the vote to Romney's 31%. The race was contentious, with each candidate labeling the other a "liberal". After Florida, McCain was the clear frontrunner for the nomination, and had the most delegates to the national convention heading in to the possibly-decisive February 5 Super Tuesday
Super Tuesday
In the United States, Super Tuesday, in general, refers to the Tuesday in February or March of a presidential election year when the greatest number of states hold primary elections to select delegates to national conventions at which each party's presidential candidates are officially nominated...
contests. 21 states would hold Republican primaries that day.
On February 2, Romney won the Maine Republican Caucus
Maine Republican caucuses, 2008
The Maine Republican caucuses, 2008 were held on February 1, February 2, and February 3 at various locations throughout the state of Maine. The results were used to apportion 21 delegates for the state...
with 52% of the votes.
On February 4, Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
one of Romney's rivals in the primary accused Romney of voter suppression
Voter suppression
Voter suppression is a strategy to influence the outcome of an election by discouraging or preventing people from exercising their right to vote. It is distinguished from political campaigning in that campaigning attempts to change likely voting behavior by changing the opinions of potential voters...
, saying that Romney and his political surrogates should stop telling voters "a vote for Huckabee is a vote for McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
", Romney's other chief rival. Huckabee also said Romney was being "presumptuous and arrogant" thinking his supporters would vote for Romney if Huckabee left the race.
On February 5, Super Tuesday
Super Tuesday
In the United States, Super Tuesday, in general, refers to the Tuesday in February or March of a presidential election year when the greatest number of states hold primary elections to select delegates to national conventions at which each party's presidential candidates are officially nominated...
, Romney won in the Alaska, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and Utah caucuses and primaries. However, his chief rival, John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, strengthened his lead by winning Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, and Oklahoma.
Romney won 11 states primaries and caucuses, 4.7 million votes and 291 delegates.
Presidential bid suspension and withdrawal
On February 7, 2008, two days after the Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses, Romney announced that he was suspending his presidential campaign. He argued that a protracted battle between him and his GOP rivals would weaken the party, that he needed to "…stand aside, for our party and our country", and that "…in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror."On February 14, 2008, Romney endorsed McCain as his choice for the GOP's presidential nominee, and urged his supporters to do likewise
Fundraising
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
and Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
were reported to have raised $2 million and $1 million respectively. In Romney's 2002 run in the Massachusetts election, Mitt Romney contributed 65% of $9,456,557 raised for the Governor's race.
First quarter results
On April 2, 2007, Romney's campaign released first quarter 2007 fundraising information. Romney led the Republican field by raising over $23 million, which was less than Democratic contenders Hillary Clinton and Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, who reported raising $26 million and $25 million, respectively, in the same period. Romney also reported a $2.35 million personal contribution to his campaign committee. Romney, a former venture capitalist with significant personal wealth (at least $250 million) and assets, had previously dismissed the notion of substantially self-funding his campaign but justified the expenditure in the interest of "seeding" interest in his candidacy. Romney raised the most money from Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
of all presidential candidates during the first quarter, with $1.9 million raised.
Meg Whitman
Meg Whitman
Margaret Cushing "Meg" Whitman is an American business executive. She is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Hewlett-Packard. A native of Long Island, New York, she is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Business School...
, CEO of eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
, signed on as a financial co-chairwoman of his presidential campaign. She is a former co-worker of Romney's at Bain Capital
Bain Capital
Bain Capital LLC is a Boston-based private equity firm founded in 1984 by partners from the consulting firm Bain & Company. Originally conceived as an early-stage, growth-oriented investment fund, Bain Capital today manages approximately $65 billion in assets, and its strategies include private...
.
Second quarter results
On June 25, 2007, five days before the end of the second quarter of fundraising on June 30, Romney announced that he was again lending his campaign a significant amount of money. He declined to say how much the second contribution would be, but that it was needed in order to run more advertising in battleground states. He said, "It would be nice not to have to loan or contribute to your own campaign... If other people are making sacrifices, I sure have to as well. It’s not a dream come true. In some respects, it’s kind of a nightmare to write checks from your own bank account." Romney asserted that his campaign had already spent $3 million on television advertising in Iowa and New Hampshire since February 2007.When fundraising results from the second quarter were released, Romney had lent a total of $8.9 million to his campaign from his personal funds. From April to June, he spent $20.7 million, more than any other Republican candidate.
2008 presidential campaign finance summary
As of September 30, 2007, Romney has raised $62,829,069 for his campaign for presidency. Private donors have given $44,485,017 toward his campaign, PACs have given $298,700, and no money has come from other sources. Romney himself has given $17,413,736 to his campaign. 62% of PAC contributions came from business groups, and the final 38% from ideological organizations. So far 18.4% of his finances have been disclosed, while 81.6% has not. Romney has $9,216,517 on hand, has spent $62,829,069, and has a total of $17,350,000 in debts.Religion
Romney is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), colloquially referred to as the Mormon Church.Had Romney won the nomination, he would have been the first Mormon on a major party's presidential ticket. In pursuing the Republican Party presidential nomination, he was following in the footsteps of his father, George W. Romney
George W. Romney
George Wilcken Romney was an American businessman and Republican Party politician. He was chairman and CEO of American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1962, the 43rd Governor of Michigan from 1963 to 1969, and the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1969 to 1973...
, who ran for the White House in 1968 and lost
George Romney presidential campaign, 1968
George Romney ran for the 1968 Republican Party nomination in the 1968 United States presidential election.Romney was the Governor of Michigan and a renowned automaker who focused his campaign on the issues of fiscal responsibility, welfare reform and the Vietnam War...
; fellow Latter-day Saint Orrin Hatch
Orrin Hatch
Orrin Grant Hatch is the senior United States Senator for Utah and is a member of the Republican Party. Hatch served as the chairman or ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1993 to 2005...
of Utah, who ran in 2000 and lost; and Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith was founder of what later became known as the Latter Day Saint movement or Mormons.Joseph Smith may also refer to:-Latter Day Saints:* Joseph Smith, Sr. , father of Joseph Smith...
, who ran in 1844 but was eliminated from the race when he was killed by a mob. In contrast to Hatch's 2000 attempt or Smith's 1844 attempt, Romney was felt to be a major contender and so the effect his religion would have on the election came under serious consideration by pundits. As of September 2007, 75% of the American electorate professed that Mormonism in a candidate would not affect their vote.
Romney may have been challenged by voters with the concern that a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would take commandments from the president of the church who is regarded as a living prophet. In an interview aired on Fox News Romney said, "America has a political religion, which is to place the oath of office, an oath to abide by a nation of laws and the Constitution, above all others. And there's no question that I make that my primary responsibility." Mike Otterson, an LDS spokesman, said, "The suggestion that a Mormon leader would dictate policy to a President Romney is absurd. I can't imagine any president that would allow that." During the 1960 presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, similar allegations were made that a Roman Catholic would take orders from the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
.
In 2006, the Boston Globe reported that Mitt Romney's son, Josh Romney, and a member of Romney's political action committee in his Salt Lake City office September 19, 2007, did meet with Jeffrey R. Holland
Jeffrey R. Holland
Jeffrey Roy Holland is an American educator and religious leader. He served as the ninth President of Brigham Young University and is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Holland is accepted by...
, an apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to discuss Romney's campaign. According to the Church, the meeting was a courtesy call and that Jeffrey R. Holland reminded the Romneys of the Church's longstanding policy of political neutrality.
Romney's campaign speeches sometimes contained a standard response to the religion issue as a whole: "I believe in God. I believe in the family. I believe in America's future. It has a great role to preserve the peace on the planet. So the kinds of values I have are very much in line with those of the American people. My guess is as they get to know me better, there will be other faults that they find more troubling."
In October 2006, Romney asked to meet with a group of influential Christian leaders, including Jerry Falwell
Jerry Falwell
Jerry Lamon Falwell, Sr. was an evangelical fundamentalist Southern Baptist pastor, televangelist, and a conservative commentator from the United States. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch in Lynchburg, Virginia...
, Franklin Graham
Franklin Graham
William Franklin Graham III , known publicly as Franklin Graham, is an American Christian evangelist and missionary. He is the president and CEO of both the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the international Christian relief organization Samaritan's Purse.He currently lives in Boone,...
, Gary Bauer, and Paula White to discuss his presidential candidacy. About a dozen accepted and traveled at their own expense to Boston, gathering at Romney's home in Belmont, Mass. A prominent Evangelical leader, Dr. James Dobson, has not ruled out supporting him, while at the same time, Dobson has ruled out supporting Fred Thompson, John McCain and Rudy Giuliani.
Mitt Romney gave a speech entitled "Faith in America," Thursday, December 6 at the George Herbert Walker Bush Presidential Library
George Bush Presidential Library
The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library of George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States. It was dedicated on Nov. 6, 1997 and opened to the public shortly thereafter...
in Texas, with the former president providing introductory remarks. The speech, which was widely regarded as referencing that of then-Senator John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
's September 1960 pledge not to allow Catholic doctrine to inform policy, discussed the role of religion in American society and politics; Romney said he would not allow any authorities from any religion, including his own, to influence presidential decisions. He avoided speaking about specific Latter-day Saint doctrines, as he stated that by forcing him to become the spokesperson for his faith, it would be enabling "the very religious test the founders prohibited in the Constitution." Instead, he addressed religion in general, saying "Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom.".
In December 2007, rival candidate, Mike Huckabee, when asked by the New York Times if he personally considered the LDS faith a cult or a religion, Huckabee said he believed it was a religion despite his lack of knowledge, but then followed up by asking, "Don’t Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?"
Thereafter on December 12, upon the conclusion of a Republican debate in Iowa, Huckabee personally apologized to Romney. The next morning on MSNBC Huckabee said, "It was never my intention to denigrate his faith... I raised it not to create a story. I thought we were having a simple, casual conversation... I don't think his Mormon faith should have anything to do with him being elected."
But then Mr. Huckabee accused Mr. Romney of running a negative campaign. "We run a positive campaign, more so frankly than Mitt, who's running ads against me and dropping fliers in Iowa," he said.
An opinion piece in the December 14 New York Times quotes Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics
University of Virginia Center for Politics
The University of Virginia Center for Politics was founded in 1998 by professor and political analyst Larry J. Sabato to put into practice his belief that "Politics is a good thing!" The Center for Politics is a nonpartisan organization based in Charlottesville, Virginia, which seeks to increase...
, describing such apologies as "nonapology apologies.... They're proving they're not sincere by continuing to raise the subjects. Once you apologize, you should avoid the subject like the plague... It’s no accident they continue to bring these things up... There is a strong prejudice among many fundamentalist Christians against Mormonism."
In January 2008, fellow presidential candidate Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
expressed concerns that Romney's religion might be affecting how the other candidates treat him. "One thing I'm a little bit afraid of is that they might be doing that for religious reasons, and I don't like that."
According to political scientist and commentator Larry Sabato
Larry Sabato
Larry Joseph Sabato is an American political scientist and analyst. He is the Robert Kent Gooch Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia, and director of its Center for Politics. He founded Sabato's Crystal Ball, an online newsletter and website that provides free political analysis and...
, "One reason Romney pulled out of South Carolina was that he could not overcome the palpable prejudice that evangelical Christians have about his religion, and South Carolina's view is shared throughout much of the South and elsewhere. Partly as a consequence, Romney shows up in national polls as the weakest of the major Republican candidates...."
Speeches
Media Matters pointed out that in an April 10 speech, Romney criticized House Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
for her "partisan" trip to Syria, but he did not mention that a Republican was a member of her delegation, or that a separate Republican-led delegation had met with the Syrian President three days before Pelosi did.
On May 5, 2007, in a graduation speech at Regent University
Regent University
Regent University is a private coeducational interdenominational Christian university located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. The school was founded by the American televangelist Pat Robertson in 1978 as Christian Broadcasting Network University. A satellite campus located in...
, a conservative Christian institution founded by evangelist Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
, Romney extolled marriage and the family and criticized those who choose to remain single because they enjoy "the single life." He added, ”It seems that Europe leads Americans in this way of thinking. In France, for instance, I’m told that marriage is now frequently contracted in seven-year terms where either party may move on when their term is up. How shallow and how different from the Europe of the past.”
Debates
Romney participated in the first 2008 Republican Presidential Candidates Debate on May 3, 2007 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential LibraryRonald Reagan Presidential Library
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Center for Public Affairs is the presidential library and final resting place of Ronald Wilson Reagan, the 40th President of the United States. Designed by Hugh Stubbins and Associates, the library is located in Simi Valley, California, about northwest of...
along with the other Republican presidential contenders. The debate was sponsored by MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
, politico.com, the Reagan Presidential Library, and Nancy Reagan
Nancy Reagan
Nancy Davis Reagan is the widow of former United States President Ronald Reagan and was First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989....
.
Romney also participated in the second 2008 Republican Candidates Debate on May 15, 2007 at the University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
. When Brit Hume
Brit Hume
Brit Hume is an American television journalist and political commentator.For twenty years he was a correspondent for the American Broadcasting Company, including Chief White House Correspondent. He then spent ten years as the Washington, D.C. managing editor of the Fox News Channel and the anchor...
asked about the use of "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques" including waterboarding
Waterboarding
Waterboarding is a form of torture in which water is poured over the face of an immobilized captive, thus causing the individual to experience the sensation of drowning...
on captured terrorists, Romney replied that the real key is prevention through counterintelligence, adding that "we ought to double Guantanamo." His full quote is:
"Now you said the person was going to be on Guantanamo. I'm glad they're on Guantanamo. I don't want them on our soil. I want them on Guantanamo, where they don't get the access to lawyers that they get when they're on our soil. I don't want them in our prisons. I want them there. Some people have said we ought to close Guantanamo. My view is we ought to double Guantanamo.
"We ought to make sure that the terrorists... [Applause] and there's no question but that in a setting like that where you have the ticking bomb, that the President of the United States - not the CIA interrogator - the President of the United States has to make the call. And Enhanced Interrogation Techniques have to be used - not torture, but enhanced interrogation techniques. Yes."
During the debate Romney also said, "There is a global jihadist effort. And they’ve come together as Shia and Sunni and Hezbollah and Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
and the Muslim Brotherhood
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
and Al Qaeda with that intent."
New Hampshire Debate - Saint Anselm College
In the June 5th debate held at the Dana Center for the Humanities at Saint Anselm CollegeSaint Anselm College
Saint Anselm College is a nationally ranked, private, Benedictine, Catholic liberal arts college in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Founded in 1889 by Abbot Hilary Pfrängle, O.S.B. of Saint Mary's Abbey in Newark, New Jersey, at the request of Bishop Denis M. Bradley of Manchester, New Hampshire, the...
near Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
, Romney responded to a question that asked if within hindsight, should Iraq have been invaded. CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
and Media Matters
Media Matters
Media Matters can refer to:* Media Matters for America, progressive media watchdog group founded by author David Brock* The radio program Media Matters hosted by communications professor Robert W. McChesney...
pointed out that Romney's answer to the question was incorrect. He said that if events occurred differently, with Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
allowing UN inspectors into his country, Iraq would not have had to have been invaded. It was pointed out by watchers in the media that Hussein did in fact allow UN weapons inspectors into Iraq, and they found little evidence of weapons of mass destruction. CNN analyst Paul Begala
Paul Begala
Paul Edward Begala is an American political consultant and political commentator. He was an adviser to President Bill Clinton. Begala was a chief strategist for the 1992 Clinton-Gore campaign, which carried 33 states and made Clinton the first Democrat to win the White House in sixteen years...
said the misstatement would disqualify Romney if it had occurred in a general election debate, and it was akin to saying "the Mexicans bombed Pearl Harbor." Romney's full statement was:
"Well, the question is kind of a non sequitur, if you will. And what I mean by that—or a null set—and that is that if you're saying, let's turn back the clock and Saddam Hussein had opened up his country to IAEA inspectors and they'd come in and they'd found that there were no weapons of mass destruction—had Saddam Hussein therefore not violated United Nations resolutions—we wouldn't be in the conflict we're in. But he didn't do those things, and we knew what we knew at the point we made the decision to get in."
YouTube debate
After the Democratic CNN/YouTube debate in July 2007, Romney said that he was not inclined to participate in the Republican YouTube debate scheduled for September 2007. (There were some unusual questions, including a question on global warmingGlobal warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
posed by an animated snowman.)
However, Romney soon changed his stance, and he did participate in the debate, held in Durham, New Hampshire
Durham, New Hampshire
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,664 people, 2,882 households, and 1,582 families residing in the town. The population density was 565.5 people per square mile . There were 2,923 housing units at an average density of 130.5 per square mile...
on September 5, 2007. This debate was cosponsored by Fox News rather than CNN and was somewhat more conventional than the earlier debate on CNN.
Endorsements
As of November 5, 2007, The HillThe Hill (newspaper)
The Hill, a subsidiary of News Communications Inc., is a newspaper published in Washington, D.C. since 1994.Its first editor was Martin Tolchin, a veteran correspondent in the Washington bureau of The New York Times....
s running tally of endorsements from members of Congress showed Romney leading McCain 38 to 28 for the lead among Republican candidates. Conservatives in the Republican coalesced around Romney after the January 29 Florida primary. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum
Rick Santorum
Richard John "Rick" Santorum is a lawyer and a former United States Senator from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Santorum was the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference -making him the third-ranking Senate Republican from 2001 until his leave in 2007. Santorum is considered both a social...
endorsed Romney on the talk radio show of Laura Ingraham
Laura Ingraham
Laura Anne Ingraham is an American radio host, author, and conservative political commentator. Her nationally syndicated talk show, The Laura Ingraham Show, airs throughout the United States on Talk Radio Network...
. The talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
community, Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
, Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
, William Bennett
William Bennett
William John "Bill" Bennett is an American conservative pundit, politician, and political theorist. He served as United States Secretary of Education from 1985 to 1988. He also held the post of Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under George H. W...
, Mark Levin
Mark Levin
Mark Reed Levin is a lawyer, author and the host of American syndicated radio show The Mark Levin Show. Levin served in the cabinet of President Ronald Reagan and was a chief of staff for Attorney General Edwin Meese...
, Dennis Prager
Dennis Prager
Dennis Prager is an American syndicated radio talk show host, syndicated columnist, author, and public speaker. He is noted for his conservative political and social views emanating from conservative Judeo-Christian values. He holds that there is an "American Trinity" of essential principles,...
, Glenn Beck
Glenn Beck
Glenn Edward Lee Beck is an American conservative radio host, vlogger, author, entrepreneur, political commentator and former television host. He hosts the Glenn Beck Program, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks...
, Hugh Hewitt
Hugh Hewitt
Hugh Hewitt is an American radio talk show host with the Salem Radio Network, lawyer, academic, and author. An outspoken Republican, evangelical Christian, he comments on society, politics, and media bias in the United States. Hewitt is also a law professor at Chapman University School of Law.-...
and Laura Ingraham
Laura Ingraham
Laura Anne Ingraham is an American radio host, author, and conservative political commentator. Her nationally syndicated talk show, The Laura Ingraham Show, airs throughout the United States on Talk Radio Network...
endorsed Romney, in an anti-McCain move. In spite of their efforts, Romney was out of the race and McCain became the presumptive nominee less than two weeks after Florida.
(See also Congressional endorsements for the 2008 presidential election.)
Incumbent and former United States Senators & Congressmen endorsing Mitt Romney |
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State Senators, former State Senators, Governors, former Governors and State Officials endorsing Mitt Romney |
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Mayors and Municipal Officials, Local Officials endorsing Mitt Romney |
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Miscellaneous public figures endorsing Mitt Romney |
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Newspapers endorsing Mitt Romney |
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See also
- Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2002Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2002The Massachusetts gubernatorial election of 2002 was held on November 5, 2002. Businessman Mitt Romney was elected to a four-year term, to be served from January 2, 2003 until January 4, 2007. Every four years, Massachusetts holds state-wide elections for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney...
- Governorship of Mitt RomneyGovernorship of Mitt RomneyWillard Mitt Romney was sworn in as the 70th Governor of Massachusetts on January 2, 2003, along with Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey. His term ended on January 4, 2007...
- George Romney presidential campaign, 1968George Romney presidential campaign, 1968George Romney ran for the 1968 Republican Party nomination in the 1968 United States presidential election.Romney was the Governor of Michigan and a renowned automaker who focused his campaign on the issues of fiscal responsibility, welfare reform and the Vietnam War...
External links
- Official website: Romney for President, Inc.
- Official blog: Five Brothers: The Romney Campaign Blog
- Official internet TV channel: Mitt TV
- Mitt Romney Press Releases: From 2003 to 2007
- Spartan Internet Political Performance Index rank for Mitt Romney by week
- Vote 2008: Mitt Romney - Online NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
- Polls: Summary of Mitt Romney's Poll Performances by Month
- Campaign bio piece in GQ Magazine: "Almost human" by Robert Draper
- Anti-abortion 527 group's Romney Fairytale TV ad than ran in early caucus and primary states
- "Romney's Top 10 reasons why he dropped out," by Joseph Williams