31 May 2008
Money or Compatability?
Posted by Joy Bischoff under: Presidential Election 2008 .
Will McCain pick money and organizational skills over a distaste for Romney and hs religion?
Romney touted as VP choice
His economic expertise and experience as governor could balance John McCain’s strength on foreign policy and long tenure in the U.S. Senate. He is a decade younger than the 71-year-old senator and looks younger still.
But Mitt Romney’s most valuable role as McCain’s running mate could be as rainmaker.
Romney was not only the wealthiest candidate in the 2008 Republican primary field; he also outraised every other contender while he was in the race. And in a year when Republicans are confronting an unprecedented Democratic money machine, Romney’s fund-raising prowess could make him especially attractive.
Earlier this month, Romney urged his finance team to contribute to McCain; many of his top donors attended a fund-raiser with President Bush at Romney’s vacation home in Deer Valley, Utah on Wednesday night.
In interviews, major Romney donors and fund-raisers said the financial spigots would open much wider if Romney were actually on the ticket.
“There is no doubt in my mind that if Senator McCain selected Governor Romney, there would be a tremendously positive response from those that may not yet be engaged on behalf of Senator McCain,” said Thomas R. Tellefsen, a California investor and former national finance chairman for Romney’s presidential campaign. . .
“The fact remains that Romney supporters are demonstratively better givers and more aggressive givers” than supporters of other primary candidates this year, one Romney donor said. “But nobody’s going to come out and say anything to make it look like they’re putting Senator McCain into a corner. .. John McCain is a fiercely independent individual who’s going to pick what his gut tells him to pick.”. . .
In any case, many Romney supporters said his personal wealth is not nearly as important as his fund-raising capacity. In the primary race, Romney proved his ability to reach beyond the usual GOP donor circles, tapping connections in Michigan, where he was born and his father was a beloved governor; in the business world, through his connections at Bain and Harvard Business School; in Utah, where he led the 2002 Winter Olympic Games; and in the Mormon community, where the Romney family’s roots go back generations.
“We brought in a lot of new blood, people who hadn’t done it before, and who got motivated,” Tellefsen said. “That was the secret to our success.”
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3 Comments so far...
Fundraising » Money or Compatability? Says:
31 May 2008 at 1:42 am.
[...] Jay-Ash wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptIn any case, many Romney supporters said his personal wealth is not nearly as important as his fund-raising capacity. In the primary race, Romney proved his ability to reach beyond the usual GOP donor circles, tapping connections in … Read the rest of this great post here [...]
Jesse Says:
31 May 2008 at 11:53 am.
Seriously folks, McCain would prove himself a lunatic not to pick someone with that kind of economic clout and like is pointed out above, the skills to put together an organization that will totally outshine what McCain has going on now.
Benjamin Says:
31 May 2008 at 4:48 pm.
This is actually starting to look kind of hopeful. I didn’t think McCain would do it being the stubborn man he is but it’s looking better.
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