Romney pesca nuevos donantes

Washington Post:

As he ramps up his 2012 presidential bid, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (R) has been actively recruiting major donors who did not support him four years ago — with impressive results.

Romney, who collected more than $100 million in 2008, has recruited at least 18 heavy-hitters (or “whales” in the political fundraising parlance) to help him secure the nomination this time around.

“There have been a great number of new individuals that have agreed to be a member of Gov. Romney’s finance leadership team,” said national finance chairman Spencer Zwick. Zwick added that in nearly every case, the new members of the Romney fundraising inner circle have already hosted (or will soon host) an event for the former governor.

The list of new names is loaded with major contributors who backed Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) in 2008 including: lobbyist Wayne Berman, who served as McCain’s national finance co-chair, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, New York Yankees president Randy Levine, oil magnate Kit Moncrief, philanthropist Mica Mosbacher, former Ambassador to Spain George Argyros and former Ambassador to Belgium Sam Fox.

Romney also has two major donors previously committed to Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and his un-pursued campaign — attorneys Dan Dumezich and Bob Grand — as well as two people who had planned to back Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour’s presidential campaign: Austin Barbour, the nephew of the governor, and Bobbie Kilberg, the president of the Northern Virginia Technology Council and the 1993 lieutenant governor nominee in Virginia.

Lew Eisenberg, a major GOP money man who served as the co-chairman of the 2008 Republican National Convention, is also on board with Romney, as is Texas homebuilder Bob Perry, who has used his wealth to fund a number of conservative-aligned groups including Swift Boat Veterans for Truth in the 2004 election.

Perhaps most interestingly, Skybridge Capital managing partner Anthony Scarramucci, a former Obama donor, has signed on with Romney. (Scarramucci was a law school classmate of Obama but engaged in a high profile back-and-forth with the president in a town hall meeting last fall.)

(...) But what Romney is clearly hoping for when the 2012 presidential hopefuls report their fundraising totals on July 15 is a total staggering enough to not only cow his rivals, but make clear to fundraising fence-sitters that the time is now to get behind him.

Fundraising, especially in these (still) early days of a national race, is a sign of organization and support — two critical pieces to any winning puzzle. Money tends to beget money, as donors want to be with the person who looks like a winner. (...)