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Mitt Romney’s money machine cranks up
The fundraisers, some clad in blue Romney t-shirts and others sporting blue hats that read “Call Day,” arrived as early as 5:30 AM to begin dialing for dollars on the East Coast. They kept at it until 2 PM. Each paid his or her own way to get here and even had to pick up their own lunch. Donors were, however, treated to a Sunday night reception at Steve Wynn’s Encore casino to get them fired up.
The goals varied, but the general targets were staggered at $10,000, $25,000 and $50,000.
Some, like former Romney business colleague and California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, aimed even higher.
“I’ve made hundreds and hundreds of phone calls,” Whitman said, noting that she had begun dialing even before arriving in Las Vegas. “The deadline that I gave people was end of business today.”
Many of the callers pegged their pitches to some of the 30-plus fundraising events on Romney’s calendar over the next month-and-a-half.
So when calls were made to potential givers in Washington, D.C., for example, the request was not just to cut a check but to come see Romney in person at an event at a lobbying firm on June 29th.
Romney officials restricted media access to the cavernous hall where the calls were being made, but did allow reporters to a glass-enclosed room above the floor to observe the process.
Dressed casually in slacks and a button-down shirt, the former governor could be seen making his way around the tables, taking cell phones from fundraisers to make some of the asks personally. He was joined by his wife and four of his five sons.
In a conference call with supporters earlier in the day, he signaled that, even though he’s yet to formally announce his candidacy, the event marked the effective start of his campaign.