BACKGROUND
The son of former Governor George Romney of Michigan and Lenore Romney, a 1970 Republican Senate candidate, Mitt Romney comes from a political family. He chose, however, to begin his career in the private sector, first working at Boston Consulting Group, then Bain & Company. In 1983, he co-founded the Bain & Company private equity spin-off firm, Bain Capital, where he accumulated a large fortune and developed a reputation as a skilled businessman. In 1994, Romney dove into politics, running against Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) on his business record, but ultimately coming up short. Romney met political success in 2002 when he won the Massachusetts gubernatorial election. Governor Romney then ran for president in 2008, losing the Republican primary to Senator John McCain (R-AZ). Romney launched his second bid for the presidency in June 2011.
POLL NUMBERS AND MONEY
According to a Real Clear Politics average of national polls taken between January 11 and February 3, Romney leads former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich by just over 3 percentage points. Romney has consistently led or placed second in national polls since the start of the primary season, trading places with Texas Governor Rick Perry, businessman Herman Cain, and Gingrich at different times during the race. Romney finished just behind the former senator and dark horse candidate Rick Santorum in the Iowa caucus, while he blew away his rivals in the New Hampshire primary. Romney’s significant momentum coming off of his New Hampshire win was halted in South Carolina, where Gingrich pulled off a decisive victory. Romney, however, was able to take back control of the race with huge wins in Florida and Nevada, setting him up well for the upcoming contests in February.
According to the Washington Post, Romney has raised $33 million since the start of his presidential campaign, dramatically outpacing his Republican rivals. While Romney may have the advantage over his fellow Republicans, he has his work cut out for him to catch up with President Obama. Obama’s campaign has already raised $157.3 million – an intimidating figure for any challenger.
MAJOR POLICY STANCES
Tapping into the nation’s economic uncertainty, Romney has largely focused his campaign on jobs and the economy. Prior to the President’s unveiling of the American Jobs Act in September, Romney released his 59-point economic plan that included proposed legislation and executive orders that would cut corporate tax rates, work to repeal regulations instated under the Affordable Care Act and the Dodd-Frank Act, aim to boost domestic energy production, restrict labor unions, and reduce non-defense discretionary spending. “Growing the economy is the way to put people back to work and fund our national budget,” emphasized Romney during a speech on his economic plan. Romney’s foreign policy focuses on reversing cuts to defense spending, deterring Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, labeling China as a currency manipulator and applying sanctions, and staying the course in Afghanistan. With regards to social issues, Romney has been pro-life on abortion since 2004 and opposes civil unions for same-sex couples.
STRENGTHS
With his business background and executive experience, Romney has the ability to make a strong argument that he would be capable of reducing joblessness and growing the economy. His campaign’s focus on economic issues would be the most effective general election strategy in earning the support of voters frustrated with a slow economic recovery. In 2010, voters ranked the economy as the most important political issue, and there is little evidence that ranking will change between now and November.
CHALLENGES
In the Republican primaries, Romney has the challenge of defending his support for an individual mandate in the 2006 Massachusetts health care law – an unpopular provision of the federal 2010 Affordable Care Act. So far he has been able to navigate the issue fairly well, not allowing it to knock him from the top tier of candidates and using a states’ rights argument to defend his support for it. The wealthy Romney must also combat the assertion made by rivals, both Democratic and Republican, that he is “out-of-touch.” Making a $10,000 bet at a debate and characterizing himself as “unemployed,” even in jest, have not helped his image, but it remains to be seen if he will garner working and middle class support.
PROSPECTS
Romney has been the frontrunner throughout the year, leading in the polls and in fundraising. Although his momentum was briefly curtailed in South Carolina, he demonstrated in Florida and Nevada that his superior organization and financial advantage will allow him to compete to the very end.