June 29, 2011

Romney: Expertly Managing Expectations, or Just a Lousy Quarter?

I’ve read at least half a dozen articles just in the past week or so predicting what the GOP candidates were going to announce as far as Q2 fundraising numbers next week. Every single one of them stated Romney would be somewhere in the ballpark of $20 million – and that his efforts would be judged successful on not depending on if he clears the $23 million mark he raised back in 2007.

Every time I read one of those articles, I thought, “Romney is playing the expectations game perfectly. When he comes in with his near-$40 million haul, everyone will be amazed.”

But today I read two more articles on the topic that have got to have Romney supporters a little nervous.

First, the Romney campaign is telling FOXNews that they raised less than $20 million this quarter. Normally, this would be part of the expectations game, but…

These Romney Aides assure FOX News they are not playing the traditional ‘expectations game’ by saying the number will be less than $20 million now, only to announce within the next few days that they actually broke that barrier.

Then came this piece from the Associated Press as reported by Politico:

Romney is expected to report raising $16 million to $20 million for the quarter, said two advisers who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss fundraising before the deadline. Romney, who pumped $42 million of his own fortune into his 2008 presidential race, was not planning to write himself a check this time…

If this is true and Romney raised less than $20 million this quarter, that is ridiculously bad news. He will still, undoubtedly, lead the fundraising tally at the end of the day, but this kind of underwhelming performance will be brutal to endure. Early on, campaign aides were floating numbers as high as $50 million, and then the general thought was that he would come in around $40 million. I thought that all the talk about meeting internal campaign goals meant that they set out to break Dubya’s $36 million fundraising record – a perfect headline to create an aura of inevitable frontrunner.

But maybe it’s all true and not part of the game. Maybe Romney did raise less than $20 million. And if that’s true, then expect folks who are still sitting on the sidelines to smell blood in the water and jump in the race in a hurry. We should know one way or the other within the next week or so.

by @ 8:59 pm. Filed under Fundraising, Mitt Romney
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82 Responses to “Romney: Expertly Managing Expectations, or Just a Lousy Quarter?”

  1. Jaxemer11 Says:

    I find the under $20 million number hard to believe, but I think your analysis is right. If his numbers are that low, it will encourage people to come in. It would definitely be disappointing (almost unbelievably so … given his two day $12 million haul early in the quarter).

    That is probably the only thing that hurts him though. It is hard to make an attack ad based on fundraising numbers, and he isn’t going to have any trouble financing his campaign.

    Maybe he is under-reporting in order to encourage more people to get in to make sure the vote on the right is split? Probably not.

  2. Matt "MWS" Says:

    Maybe it’s Nobody and the 9 dwarves.

  3. Jonathan Says:

    To quote my Jewish friends oy. This race is a mess; we have more jokes than serious contenders, at least 2-3 would-be candidates aren’t in yet, and now the guy who’s supposed to be the one who could compete with the President financially might’ve only raised $20 million.

    As I said, oy.

  4. Jaxemer11 Says:

    Or maybe people are directing money to the Super PAC instead of the campaign? That doesn’t make too much sense to me though. It seems like you would encourage people to give the max to the campaign first and then let the excess go to the PAC.

  5. Jaxemer11 Says:

    3 – Only? You say that as if it is an obscenely low number. No Republican raised that much in the second quarter of 2007, and that was when the economy was still in tact.

  6. Matt "MWS" Says:

    There are many things Romney doesn’t do well, and many things he does. I’m shocked he wasn’t more in tune with the sort of expectations a $10 million day would set for the quarter.

    Did he seriously raise over half his money in one day? If so, was he sandbagging that day to make it look good? If he did, it’s gonna’ backfire now. If he pulls less than his first quarter in ’07, the headlines are “Romney Can’t Even Match His Losing Effort.”

  7. Jonathan Says:

    #5:

    When we’re running against an incumbent who’ll probably raise $60 million in one quarter, yeah “only” seems appropriate. What’s worse, whoever wins the nomination is going to have spent millions in the primary season and will be at a financial disadvantage come the fall campaign.

  8. Matt "MWS" Says:

    Jax,

    Romney is the dude who’s supposed to hang with the Obama Fundraising Machine, remember? That’s supposed to be the justification for millions of people ignoring their better judgement and voting for him.

  9. Jaxemer11 Says:

    6 – But he can match and exceed the winning effort of McCain.

  10. Jaxemer11 Says:

    8 – I know, it is disappointing. He will be fine though. Obama isn’t meeting his fundraising expectations either.

  11. Jaxemer11 Says:

    7 – So should we just pack up and go home then?

  12. Matt "MWS" Says:

    Now, if Mitt’s advisers ARE playing the expectations game, his campaign just blew some credibility and trust with FoxNews (and the rest of the media)

    You don’t say…. “Dude, I’m totally not lying to you. Cross my heart hope to die” and then lie to a reporter.

  13. Matt "MWS" Says:

    Jax,

    “But he can match and exceed the winning effort of McCain.”

    But he’s not McCain. He’s Romney.

    That’s going to cost more money.

  14. Jonathan Says:

    #11:

    I’m certainly not saying that. We Republicans should just be prepared to accept that we are going to be at a financial disadvantage come the fall campaign. Money doesn’t elect a President (see Forbes, Steve or Perot, Ross) but it doesn’t hurt.

  15. Jaxemer11 Says:

    12 – Right, but we already know Mitt is a lying charlatan, so why would we put that past him.

  16. Jaxemer11 Says:

    14 – You are right. I don’t think there is any reason to panic yet. I think Romney will do just fine raising money if he is the nominee (as will any Republican that could possibly beat Obama).

  17. Adam X (Run Rick Run!) Says:

    I dunno. Are we making too much of this?

    I mean, I LOVE to pile on Romney – but is it going to matter how much he raises this quarter.

    SOMEONE is going to emerge victorious from the primary contests. I feel like whoever that candidate is….isn’t going to have money trouble. There is plenty of frustration and anger at Obama. I think the money will roll in if the candidate looks viable.

    Whether or not the nominee has the enthusiasm from a wide swath of the base is another matter and will depend on who we choose.

  18. Matt "MWS" Says:

    Jonathan,

    In truth, I suspect money doesn’t mean quite as much in the general election of an incumbents’ election bid. Most people will have a pretty firm opinion of him, and the election will be a referendum on him, and him alone (unless we nominate Palin, Bachmann, or Cain). Money probably means more in an open election when it’s not a direct referendum on the guy who’s been in the paper for 4 years.

  19. Jaxemer11 Says:

    Note that Mitt is not raising money for the General yet either (unlike some others). I’m not sure if he raised money for the general in 2007, but he could have inflated his numbers a little by taking donations for the general as well as the primaries.

  20. Matt "MWS" Says:

    Jax,

    “Right, but we already know Mitt is a lying charlatan, so why would we put that past him.”

    Indeed, but I’d like to think he’s a little more sophisticated than blowing his campaign’s credibility with reporters on a quarterly fundraising report.

  21. jaaron Says:

    Jax – Total conservative’s comment was removed on the other thread before I had a chance to read it, what was the gist?

    hopefully, this is not true – Romney doesn’t need any more media sniping.

  22. Matt "MWS" Says:

    Jax,

    “but he could have inflated his numbers a little by taking donations for the general as well as the primaries.”

    The media always breaks that out for us anyway.

  23. Jaxemer11 Says:

    20 – The credibility of an anonymous source to a blogger?

  24. Jonathan Says:

    #18:

    I’m not worried so much about using the money to form opinions about the President. As you said, most everyone has an opinion about him and how he’s doing. My concern is money for turnout and the ground-game. The 2004 Bush campaign was won on the ground; that was my first work on a national campaign and I was amazed at the efficiency of the Bush-Cheney ground game. By contrast, the McCain-Palin ground game was pretty worthless.

    Whoever our nominee is, we’ll need the funds to finance our ground forces in the battleground states.

  25. Jaxemer11 Says:

    21 – Doesn’t need repeating. I think it is still up on one of the threads if you want to dig for it.

  26. blue Says:

    I don’t think its a big deal, have the most $ doesn’t always fly politcally. If push came to shove for him, he could cut a check, so $ isn’t a problem.

  27. jaaron Says:

    22 – for those who follow politics. the majority of people would’ve just seen that said candidate made $40 million in the headlines, they wouldn’t follow or even care about the nuances of general vs primary.

  28. Smack1968 Says:

    I don’t think this is a big deal. I also would love to pile on Romney, but I can’t.

    There probably is some apathy out there…there is a whole lot of money still on the table…..However no one is in position to pull it in.

    Even the donors are poor….let’s be honest.

    Everybody’s numbers are going to be lower then what we all predicted…but Romney’s advantage will still be there.

    If Perry thinks he can come in and raise 15 million in the third quarter..then go for it….but I doubt he can.

    Money is tough out there.

    16-20 million is ok for Romney…not bad. Only Paul & Bachmann will have decent numbers besides Romney.

  29. Jaxemer11 Says:

    I certainly haven’t given as much as I have wanted to. The economy is brutal right now, in case you guys didn’t notice.

  30. Matt "MWS" Says:

    Jax,

    “The credibility of an anonymous source to a blogger?”

    No, this was “Senior Romney Campaign officials” talking to FoxNews. The sources aren’t anonymous to Fox.

  31. Jaxemer11 Says:

    31 – Right. Like Fox News has ever been about credibility when they report on Romney.

  32. corep Says:

    things that make you go hmmmmm-

    things arent adding up – from an article on philly.com about Romney and obama being in philly tomorrow-

    “Attorney Charles Kopp, chairman of Romney’s campaign in Pennsylvania, said, “In my view, the Republican primary voters will soon begin to focus on electability rather than philosophy, and when that happens, Mitt Romney will emerge as the party’s nominee with an excellent chance to become our next president.”

    Kopp said the events would raise $400,000 to $500,000 for the Romney campaign.”

    From an article in WSJ

    “One big Romney fund-raiser, Virginia GOP operative Bobbie Kilberg, said all signs point to the Romney campaign posting “a very robust quarter.” Ms. Kilberg was one of six co-hostsa co-host of a fund-raiser Wednesday evening in suburban Washington that was expected to bring in at least 130 people. She alone expected to raise $130,000 from guests she invited.”

    the latter seems to imply that there are 5 other people who invited people as well and that their totals should add to the $130,000.

    unless this nugget from the WSJ article points to where some of the funds are going-

    “A separate political entity created by supporters of Mr. Romney is expected to report at least $10 million, according to people close to the committee. The group is run by Mr. Romney’s allies, who say they will spend the money to advance his presidential campaign. None of Mr. Romney’s competitors are supported by similar entities.”

    and the WSJ article starts with this-

    “Supporters of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said they have raised between $25 million and $35 million in support of his presidential ambitions, a total that far outstrips his rivals and could further establish Mr. Romney as the Republican Party’s front-runner.”

    So what is the truth?

  33. Smack1968 Says:

    I gave $100.00 to TPAW last Thursday…I have gone to Iowa 6 times and will be going again July 9th.

    If TPAW doesn’t defeat Batty Bachmann in Iowa I Just might mail back my Out of State Iowa fishing License to the Iowa Secretary of State office with a note that says the following.

    ARE YOU GUYS NUTS??

  34. Matt "MWS" Says:

    Jax,

    So are you suggesting FoxNews just made this up?

  35. Matt "MWS" Says:

    “So what is the truth?”

    That’s what Pontius Pilate asked, almost 2000 years ago.

  36. Texas Conservative Says:

    Looks like people are holding their wallets closed as they really don’t want Romney but might be stuck with him.

  37. Jaxemer11 Says:

    34 – I’m saying I don’t think Romney’s camp cares much what Fox News thinks of them.

  38. corep Says:

    #36
    possible. maybe they are looking at the field and thinking there isnt anyone to challenge Romney yet so why spend now and just spend for the general.

    big question for me is can a Perry or a Palin but together an organization with enough breadth and expertise to challenge a Romney in a short amount of time? Also either expect to raise $20 million in one quarter, say Q3, to catch up with what Romney already has?

  39. Matt "MWS" Says:

    Jax,

    That may be true, but even if it’s “only Foxnews” intentionally misleading any news organization like that, swearing you’re telling the truth, is a good way to lose credibility with all news organizations.

  40. Adam X (Run Rick Run!) Says:

    If Romney’s smart he wouldn’t intentionally mislead Fox News. He’s going to need them in his corner if he makes it to the general election – because God knows all the other networks are going to remain in the tank for Obama.

  41. Massachusetts Conservative Says:

    Frankly, I find this $20 million number hard to believe.. but I guess I have to believe it!

    I want to see it for myself, but it sounds legit.

    This is not what I was hoping for. I don’t think ANYONE thought Mitt would raise less than $23 million.

    He has had dozens of high-dollar fundraisers and a huge money bomb of $10.25 million.

    Maybe the money bomb really WAS just pledges, and not transactions?

    Still, out-raising your nearest rival by 2X is quite impressive. But we will see. July 15 the numbers are released.

  42. Smack1968 Says:

    You don’t want to mislead Fox News with something like this.

    We are going to see lots of low numbers.

  43. husky Says:

    http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0311/Romneys_50_million.html

    this story in March suggested that team Romney was going to raise 50 million in 2Q.

    http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0311/Romneys_50_million_clarified.html

    This story came out a day or 2 later suggesting that 50 million was crazy and that 23 million was a more reasonable goal. But after his 10 million dollar day, I thought 50 million seemed reachable. Now I have to wonder.

    If he gets 40-50 million than good for him. But I wonder if he blew it in the expectations game. Especially if the number is closer to 20 million. I wish his team would have always suggested 15-20 million as a goal, and tried like heck to exceed that.

  44. Jaxemer11 Says:

    39 – I wouldn’t put much trust in the Fox blogger’s word on whether they really “swore” they were telling the truth either.

  45. Smack1968 Says:

    Massachusetts Conservative,

    No big deal.

    Like you say

    2X over anyone else..and the next one is probably Paul…which..you..know.doesn’t mean a whole lot.

    Donors are holding their money.

    I wonder if Huntsman is going to outraise Bachmann? Huntsman is having multiple fundraisers every day it seems like.

  46. Jaxemer11 Says:

    What would you say when they asked you if you were trying to lower expectations anyways? Would you admit you just lied to them and ask them to report it for you? How many other candidates did they ask if they were being lied to?

  47. Matt "MWS" Says:

    MassCon,

    “Maybe the money bomb really WAS just pledges, and not transactions?”

    ‘Didn’t think of that. I found it hard to believe 1/2 to 2/3 of his money came on one day.

  48. Matt "MWS" Says:

    If Huntsman puts in relatively good numbers, the media will continue to pump him.

  49. Massachusetts Conservative Says:

    And remember folks, that the REAL important number in the fundraising is how Mitt COMPARES to the other candidates.

    Absolute totals change cycle to cycle, based on the economy, shaping of the field, and prospects of victory for the party to which the candidate belongs.

    Also, to clear this up… The $50 million number was for the whole YEAR, not just Q2.

  50. Matt "MWS" Says:

    Jax,

    “What would you say when they asked you if you were trying to lower expectations anyways?”

    If you really are just wanting to lower expectations, but don’t want to lie, you demur, and keep repeating, “Let’s just say we’d be thrilled if we end up over $17 million.”

  51. Massachusetts Conservative Says:

    47

    Sadly, yes. He is nothing but a tool of Romney detractors, as I’ve discussed several times.

  52. Tsimnuj Says:

    Mitt is playing low expectation at this time and he changed his own from a rich man to a general person that no tie right now so may be it is not time to tell the true yet,the right number will be on the report in July so just to be fair and wait for the time to come so you can critic or blame him what ever you want,because he always make surprise for the public.

  53. zeek Says:

    It is so telling about bloggers…One possible candidate decides not to run because he can hardly pay for his new house, another announced candidate cant pay his own people and goes in the red,others peddle themselves and family for money, but during one quater Romney only raises 20 million and the dogs start to yap. It is a pattern of spin that consistently repeats itself.

  54. TarheelRepublican Says:

    Looks like Romney’s advisors weren’t really lowballing, but they weren’t taking into consideration the super PAC.
    http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/58072.html

    So according to the WSJ story, all total it’ll be between 25-35 million. I wonder how that plays out in the media. His campaign account and the super PAC formed by supporters taken together or the emphasis on his campaign account. Should be interesting.

  55. Massachusetts Conservative Says:

    53

    Well, you can be sure FOX will not mention the Super PAC. They will conveniently bash Mitt on his campaign account fundraising while conveniently ignoring the Super PAC.

  56. Som0ne You Know Says:

    The $10 million was in commitments, not actually raised in one day.

    He got the $10 million in increments, I’m sure. Maybe he pooled all of his major resources into that one day to look intimidating and then couldn’t follow up.

    Or maybe we’ll all look like fools in a couple of days.

  57. Som0ne You Know Says:

    Prediction -

    1st Place – Romney with 20-24 million
    2nd Place – Huntsman with 8-10 million
    3rd Place – Bachmann with 7-9 million
    4th Place – Paul with 7-9 million
    5th Place – Pawlenty with 6-8 million
    6th Place – Cain with 3-4 million
    7th Place – Santorum with 750k
    8th Place – Johnson with 250k
    9th Place – Moore with $848
    10 Place – Fred Karger with whatever spare cash is in his wallet
    Scraping for pennies by the corner outside of Tiffany’s – Gingrich

  58. Massachusetts Conservative Says:

    I just need to see the numbers. It just doesn’t add up.

  59. Fuzzie Bear Says:

    Well, when all you have are dimes making up the rest of the field, Romney’s dollar looks pretty good.

  60. Loose Era Says:

    Matt makes an excellent point. In a bad economy, with an incumbent, total number of dollars may matter less…The “billion” that gets thrown around for Obama (but not BY him, that I’ve seen) is purely aspirational, and likely not gonna happen. It’s the relative measure that matters, and it looks like Mitt will be Number One by a wide margin.

    I have said it before: this may turn out to be a boring primary season, especially if Palin and Perry don’t even run.

  61. Doug NYC GOP Says:

    There are reports, many of them, Obama is having trouble raising funds.

  62. Doug NYC GOP Says:

    Does anyone know if Romney wrote himself a check in Q2 2007?

    If the $23 Million in ’07 included any self financing, one would have to look at the net amount from donors in Q2 2007 to Q2 2011, since he is not writing a check to himself yet.

  63. Doug NYC GOP Says:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitt_Romney_presidential_campaign,_2008

    First quarter results

    On April 2, 2007, Romney’s campaign released first quarter 2007 fundraising information. Romney led the Republican field by raising over $23 million, which was less than Democratic contenders Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, who reported raising $26 million and $25 million, respectively, in the same period. Romney also reported a $2.35 million personal contribution to his campaign committee. Romney, a former venture capitalist with significant personal wealth (at least $250 million)[69] and assets, had previously dismissed the notion of substantially self-funding his campaign but justified the expenditure in the interest of “seeding” interest in his candidacy.[70][71][72] Romney raised the most money from Wall Street of all presidential candidates during the first quarter, with $1.9 million raised.[73]

    Meg Whitman, CEO of eBay, signed on as a financial co-chairwoman of his presidential campaign.[74] She is a former co-worker of Romney’s at Bain Capital.

    [edit] Second quarter results

    On June 25, 2007, five days before the end of the second quarter of fundraising on June 30, Romney announced that he was again lending his campaign a significant amount of money.[69] He declined to say how much the second contribution would be, but that it was needed in order to run more advertising in battleground states. He said, “It would be nice not to have to loan or contribute to your own campaign… If other people are making sacrifices, I sure have to as well. It’s not a dream come true. In some respects, it’s kind of a nightmare to write checks from your own bank account.” Romney asserted that his campaign had already spent $3 million on television advertising in Iowa and New Hampshire since February 2007.[69]

    When fundraising results from the second quarter were released, Romney had lent a total of $8.9 million to his campaign from his personal funds. From April to June, he spent $20.7 million, more than any other Republican candidate.[75]

  64. Heath Says:

    I told you the predictions were all way off in the comp.

    As pointed out above the $10M was promised money only.

    $20M in fact will be an incredible haul and double his nearest competitor. Anyone spinning that as disappointing has no idea!

  65. Steven S Says:

    Reasons Romney not raising as much:

    1. Waiting on bigger fish
    2. Huntsman Jr. taking away from rich donors and Mormons (undecided too)
    3. Pounced so much by others
    4. Perceived as getting ahead of himself

  66. Steven S Says:

    5. Just not a lot of money out there with so many hurting (0bama suffering on this one too)

  67. Gruntsman Says:

    65- Gruntsman Jr is not well liked my big fish, Mormons, and Utahns… so that is probably not the reason

  68. Huckarubio....returns Says:

    If we have seen anything from the GOP race this year its that there is a new entrant every few weeks and no one is happy with the current group. This is going to show up in donations, but this is a GOOD thing! If the race were held today with JUST the current entrants, I would vote for Rick Santorum. But he cant win and I am happy to jump ship for another candidate. I’m not really tied to him that much. But when we get to the general I will be supporting the candidate (unless we pick a pro-abortion candidate). I think this is how alot of GOPers feel. Lets save our money until we have someone to compete with Obama cause right now we (alot of voters) are not excited about the field.

    Whoever wins the primary is going to have plenty of money to compete with Obama in 2012…..yes, even if Obama pushes $1bil.

  69. copp Says:

    If he has DESIGNED to come out with an unexpectedly low number then he’s using that real number itself to lower expectations in THE LARGER EXPECTATIONS GAME. And for the next number, of course! The game has just begun afterall.

    People are already getting BORED that he’s the very likely winner here and there’s still 8 months to go. Lower expectations and keep your face off the television is the smart thing to do. Create a little fear and apprehension in your supporters so they don’t get bored and lazy. Don’t let the press get bored and run out of stories – don’t end the race and the public’s interest in it – and the chance to educate them on the Republican candidates take on the issues TOO SOON. These are the months to introduce them to THE ALTERNATIVE to Obama/Democrat approach. lET THE SHOW GO ON IS WHAT MATTERS MOST RIGHT NOW.

    A chink in Romney’s money armour IS EXACTLY WHAT’S NEEDED JUST NOW. Now that the polls and the country is kind of wanting him and picturing him as the next president and the guy to fix the economy, showing a liitle weakness and needing their moral support is PERFECT right now.

    Remember it’s not about the dollars it’s about people voting for you – pulling for you.

  70. Not Your Daddy's Craig Says:

    Romney doesn’t need money to beat Obama, he just needs to arrange for one of the presidential debates to be shirtless. That’d clinch his victory.

  71. Matt "MWS" Says:

    copp,

    That’s it. Mitt is such a cinch, he’s dogging the race now to let others catch up, so people aren’t bored.

  72. Matt "MWS" Says:

    “A chink in Romney’s money armour IS EXACTLY WHAT’S NEEDED JUST NOW.”

    That, boys and girls, is truth #4 in the manuel, Rules for Rombots. It states…..

    “Everything that happens is good news for Romney. Even if he appears to make a gaffe, blow a debate, or perform poorly in some aspect of the race, it is merely an intentional part of a larger strategy which genius shall be revealed in the appointed hour.”

  73. Matt "MWS" Says:

    Kudos to the Rombots above who were honest enough to admit that $20 mil or less would be a disappointment.

  74. Massachusetts Conservative Says:

    It just doesn’t add up. He’s held 30+ high-dollar fundraisers, a $10.25 million money bomb, and had tons of internet donors.

    I have to see the number myself. But it sounds like it really IS less than $20 million.

  75. John Galt Says:

    I love how it is ‘brutally bad news’ when he brings in a huge number that dwarfs his competition. the economy sucks right now. there is not as much money to be had. it sure wouldn’t worry me if romney raised more money than his competitors.

  76. CF Says:

    So if Romney raises less than $20 million are the Romney haters now going to admit he ISN’T bought out by wall street and corporate cronyism?

    What’s it going to be?

  77. Massachusetts Conservative Says:

    76

    I love you CF. Always forcing the RomNots into a corner. Pointing out double standards is your thing. You should work for Brent Bozell at the Media Research Center.

  78. John Galt Says:

    i disagree with copp. If he brought in 40 million i wonder if the likes of perry and guiliani would even get in. it makes him look inevitable and scares the crap out of everybody else. 20 million is a disappointment but not that big of one. it still gives him a substantial edge on his competition. its hard to even call it a disappointment in my opinion.

    the one to watch in terms of money is huntsman. expect him to get a lot of pub for how much he raised. i think romney needs to raise a big number to keep huntsman from becoming the story. i expect huntsman has planned to use this money report as a way to legitimize him as a serious contender and gain some momentum. if his numbers are unexpectedly huge and pawlenty’s suck, then watch pawlenty to start losing people to huntsman. they are both mccain wannabees fighting for the same group of supporters.

  79. Joe Says:

    Mitt Romney playing coy on fundraising? – http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700148301/Mitt-Romney-playing-coy-on-fundraising.html

  80. teledude Says:

    I’m late to this thread..so it’s no wonder you guys are aimlessly wandering around clueless…

    Sarah Palin.

    That’s the answer.

    If you’re looking for fund raising that is.

    heh heh

  81. Heath Says:

    Let’s not forget Romney has only been in the race for 4 weeks!

  82. afk Says:

    I think it’s going to be below 20 million, but I think things will pick up for the top dogs later.

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