NEW YORK | Mitt Romney is organizing a phone-bank fundraiser in Las Vegas next month. Tim Pawlenty is holding regular “friendraising” meetings in big-money California and elsewhere. Haley Barbour hunkers down soon with finance operatives in cash-rich New York and other lucrative places.
Republican presidential hopefuls are in the midst of a fundraising frenzy as they seek to raise mounds of campaign cash and assemble influential donor networks. With the 2012 campaign starting several months later than it did four years ago, the contenders are under intense pressure to demonstrate their ability to bring in the dough before the slower summer season begins.
“Money is hardly the only indication of a candidate’s potential, but it’s an important indication,” said Lew Eisenberg, a top Romney fundraiser who was finance chairman for Arizona Sen. John McCain, the party’s 2008 nominee.
For now, the field is eschewing wall-to-wall public appearances with campaign speeches and interaction with voters. Instead, they’re scurrying between private meetings and dialing phone lists to persuade donors to come aboard in hopes of meeting closely kept fundraising goals for the three-month period that ends June 30.
They’re trying to prove they are savvy money collectors and ready to challenge President Obama, a record-breaking fundraiser who could raise as much as $1 billion. They also need to raise enough money to pay for full-fledged campaigns in early-voting states such as Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.
Beyond that, each contender has other objectives:
Mr. Romney, the multimillionaire former Massachusetts governor, raised $63 million and kicked in $44 million of his own money before dropping out of the primary race in 2008. He’s hoping to use his fundraising prowess to lay down a marker that he’s the candidate to beat in a field that lacks a true front-runner.
Mr. Barbour, Mississippi’s governor, an ex-lobbyist and a former Republican National Committee chairman, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who has an enormous email list through his American Solutions organization, are trying to show they can move swiftly to mobilize their existing network of backers.
Mr. Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor and a newcomer to national politics, simply is trying to demonstrate that he can compete in their league.
The same could be said for Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. She’s a proven fundraiser as a House candidate and is a favorite among tea party backers, but hasn’t run nationally. Mr. Santorum isn’t well-known around the country and hasn’t held office since losing his seat in 2006.
None will disclose his or her fundraising goals. Doing so would raise expectations they may not be able to meet.
Of those who have taken initial steps toward formal campaigns, Mr. Romney arguably has moved the quickest. He’s secured pledges from top supporters to raise as much as $25,000 apiece. He’s been meeting potential donors individually and in small groups, leading to a major “phone day” event May 16. That’s when he and his supporters plan to gather in Las Vegas to raise money and recruit new contributors. After that, aides say Mr. Romney will launch a heavy schedule of fundraising events.
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