BOSTON - Mitt Romney, the multi-millionaire former governor of Massachusetts, kicked off his second bid for the White House yesterday as front-runner of a wide-open Republican field.
Romney will start his campaign in New Hampshire, the early-voting state where a win in the February primary election would boost his chance of taking the nomination and facing President Barack Obama in next year's general election in November.
Romney, 64, has a powerful fund-raising apparatus in place. He raised an astounding $10,25million (R6,9billion) in an eight-hour phone-a-thon in Las Vegas last month.
Contacts from Romney's days running the venture capital firm Bain Capital, are another rich source of campaign donations.
"In a relatively open field, Romney at this juncture is the front-runner from an organisational and fund-raising standpoint," Republican strategist Ford O'Connell said.
Most opinion polls show other Republican hopefuls like former House speaker Newt Gingrich and former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty trailing Romney by a wide margin, though surveys are volatile this early in the race.
Romney's biggest stumbling block could be his support as governor of a healthcare programme in Massachusetts that became a model for Obama's national healthcare overhaul.
Many Republicans dislike what they derisively call "Obamacare."
Romney kicks off White House bid
BOSTON - Mitt Romney, the multi-millionaire former governor of Massachusetts, kicked off his second bid for the White House yesterday as front-runner of a wide-open Republican field.
Romney will start his campaign in New Hampshire, the early-voting state where a win in the February primary election would boost his chance of taking the nomination and facing President Barack Obama in next year's general election in November.
Romney, 64, has a powerful fund-raising apparatus in place. He raised an astounding $10,25million (R6,9billion) in an eight-hour phone-a-thon in Las Vegas last month.
Contacts from Romney's days running the venture capital firm Bain Capital, are another rich source of campaign donations.
"In a relatively open field, Romney at this juncture is the front-runner from an organisational and fund-raising standpoint," Republican strategist Ford O'Connell said.
Most opinion polls show other Republican hopefuls like former House speaker Newt Gingrich and former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty trailing Romney by a wide margin, though surveys are volatile this early in the race.
Romney's biggest stumbling block could be his support as governor of a healthcare programme in Massachusetts that became a model for Obama's national healthcare overhaul.
Many Republicans dislike what they derisively call "Obamacare."
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