Australia: Fleeting front-runner status for Romney as money drains away

The Sydney Morning Herald

Pressure on Romney as his millions drain away
By Dan Eggen

Will Mitt Romney have enough money for the battles ahead?

It may seem an odd question to ask of the man who would be the richest resident of the White House should he succeed, but the Republican presidential candidate is scrambling to shore up his coffers ahead of a gruelling run of primaries over the next month.

The former Massachusetts governor and private equity manager has amassed far more money than his competitors and has a deep-pocketed super PAC (political action committee) spending unlimited funds on his behalf. Aides and fund-raisers say he will have plenty of money left to dominate the contest.
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But unexpected surges by Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have forced Mr Romney to deplete much, if not all, of the money he had on hand at the end of December, increasing the pressure on his campaign to raise millions more.

The money chase illustrates the extent to which Mr Romney has been hobbled by a drawn-out primary contest. His polling numbers among independents have fallen, prompting him to spend resources he would have preferred to use against the President, Barack Obama, whose numbers have been picking up.

In his state of Michigan, which earlier was considered a virtual lockdown for Mr Romney, the campaign bought $US1.2 million ($1.1 million) worth of air time this week to fend off Mr Santorum, who is matching or leading Mr Romney in polling before the February 28 primary.

Restore Our Future, the main pro-Romney action committee, has bought an additional $US700,000 worth of ads and is almost certain to spend even more in the next two weeks. Mr Santorum's campaign has spent just $US42,000.

To help pay for the onslaught, Mr Romney has been hopscotching the country holding fund-raisers, including in Arizona, California and Washington, where he brought in about $US1.5 million from a ''policy roundtable'' with lobbyists, executives and other business leaders.

Romney aides and supporters acknowledge the need to raise more money for primaries in Michigan and Arizona, as well as 10 pivotal contests on March 6, known as Super Tuesday. But they say Mr Romney's cash flow is fine and that he is locking up more donations from Republicans who had been sitting out the primary race until now.

If necessary, Mr Romney can dip into a personal fortune estimated at $US250 million, and his supporters note that none of his opponents has the resources of his campaign.

Mr Romney, who raised $US57 million last year, had about $US19 million on hand at the end of December. But he has since spent an estimated $US12 million on advertising in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida, and millions more for the travel and overheads of an expanding campaign.

One challenge is a heavy reliance on the wealthiest donors, who are limited in how much they can help the campaign. One analysis showed that two-thirds of the money raised last year came from donors who gave the maximum $US2500.

But many of those donors also helped by giving to Restore Our Future, which has spent more money on ads than his campaign.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/pressure-on-romney-as-his-millions-drain-away-20120217-1tecl.html