Mitt Romney Presidential Campaign, 2012
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 2012 presidential campaign of Mitt Romney officially began on June 2, 2011, when former Massachusetts Governor
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
formally announced his candidacy for the Republican Party nomination for
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
, at an event in
Stratham, New Hampshire Stratham is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The town had a population of 7,669 at the 2020 census. It is bounded on the west by the Squamscott River. The town is the home of the only U.S. Lindt & Sprüngli factory an ...
. Having previously run in the 2008 Republican primaries, this was Romney's second campaign for the presidency. He filed his organization with the
Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent agency of the United States government that enforces U.S. campaign finance laws and oversees U.S. federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign ...
as an
exploratory committee In the election politics of the United States, an exploratory committee is an organization established to help determine whether a potential candidate should run for an elected office. They are most often cited in reference to candidates for pre ...
and announced the organization in a video message on April 11, 2011. He became the party's
presumptive nominee Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presel ...
with his victory in the Texas primary on May 29, 2012. On August 11, 2012, in
Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...
, Romney announced that
Paul Ryan Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member of the ...
, the long-time U.S. Representative for , would be his
running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pre ...
for
vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
. (Later, in October 2015, Ryan was elected Speaker of the House.) On August 30, 2012, in
Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...
, Romney formally accepted the Republican Party's nomination at the 2012 Republican National Convention. Romney's campaign came to an end on November 6, 2012, upon defeat by incumbent president
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
in the 2012 presidential election. Romney received 60,933,500 votes, or 47.2% of the total votes cast, winning 24 states and 206 electoral votes. Had he won, Romney would have been the first
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
native to serve as president (as
Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...
was born in
Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
), the first Mormon president, and the second governor of Massachusetts to do so, after
Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...
. Ryan would have been the first vice president from
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
. Six years later, in November 2018, Romney was elected as U.S. Senator from
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
.


Background

After the 2008 election, Romney built a strategy for the 2012 presidential campaign and saved PAC money to underwrite salaries and consulting fees for his existing political staff and to build up a political infrastructure for what might become a $1 billion campaign three years hence. He also had a nationwide network of former staff and supporters eager for him to run again. He continued to give speeches and raise campaign funds on behalf of fellow Republicans. Romney declined a lucrative job as head of a hedge fund, and instead began a yearlong self-education on foreign and domestic issues. Romney finished first in the CPAC
straw poll A straw poll, straw vote, or straw ballot is an ad hoc or unofficial voting, vote. It is used to show the popular opinion on a certain matter, and can be used to help politicians know the majority opinion and help them decide what to say in order ...
in 2009 and second in 2010 and 2011, won the Southern Republican Leadership Conference straw poll in 2010, and won the
New Hampshire Straw Poll The New Hampshire Straw Poll is a straw poll for the United States Republican presidential primary elections that was started in 2011 through promotion by ABC News (United States), ABC News and WMUR-TV. The first poll was held on Saturday, January 2 ...
in 2011. Romney released his 2010 tax return in early January 2012, along with a partial 2011 return which he promised to release in whole upon its completion. During the presidential campaign, he decided not to disclose additional returns citing the matter as a distraction from more important issues. Despite his preparations, Romney remained unconvinced on whether to run again. In December 2010 he asked his immediate family to vote on a 2012 campaign. Unlike the unanimous support before the 2008 campaign, this time 10 family members voted against another try; only Romney's wife Ann and one son voted in favor, and Romney told family members that he would not run again. In the spring of 2011, his wife and political allies persuaded him to change his mind, telling Romney that they believed he could fix the economy.


Campaign formation


Exploratory committee

Before a slower start to the presidential campaign by all contenders than four years previous, on April 11, 2011, Mitt Romney announced by means of a video recorded that day at an athletics field at the
University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant coll ...
that he had formed an exploratory committee as a first step for a potential run for a Republican presidential campaign, saying, "It is time that we put America back on a course of greatness, with a growing economy, good jobs and fiscal discipline in Washington."


Formal announcement

Romney formally announced his candidacy for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination at an outdoor gathering in
Stratham, New Hampshire Stratham is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The town had a population of 7,669 at the 2020 census. It is bounded on the west by the Squamscott River. The town is the home of the only U.S. Lindt & Sprüngli factory an ...
, on June 2, 2011. In his announcement speech, he pledged to make the U.S. economy the main focus of his campaign, saying "My number one job will be to see that America is number one in job creation."


Fundraising

On May 16, 2011, the Romney campaign announced that it had raised $10.25 million "in connection with today's call day fundraiser in
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
." This was hailed in the media as "an impressive one day total". Thereafter, however, the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' reported that "the amount actually represented pledges gathered earlier and tallied that day, not just funds actually taken in by the campaign". Later, it was discovered that Romney had actually raised $2.403 million on May 16, about a quarter of the claimed amount. For the entire second quarter, the campaign expected to raise only about $20 million, less than the $44 million raised in that period in 2007 but still more than any of the other Republican candidates. By the end of June, Romney's campaign raised $18.5 million, which was $14 million more than U.S. representative
Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977, and again from 1979 to 1985, as well as for Texas' ...
, who came 2nd in funding amongst Republican candidates. By the end of March 2012, Romney had raised $88 million, far more than his nearest Republican rival, Ron Paul ($36 million). President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
had raised $197 million, more than twice as much as Romney, and the Obama campaign had nearly 10 times as much cash on hand (over $100 million compared to Romney's $10 million). By the end of April, Romney was far outstripping Obama in large-value campaign contributions from individual donors: most (62%) of Romney's contributions were at the legal limit of $2,500, compared to 16% of Obama's. Obama fared better among small-value donors, with almost half (43%) of his donations at $200 or less, compared to only 10% of Romney's. Romney was also supported by the Super PAC called Restore Our Future. As of the end of February 2012, Restore Our Future had raised over $43 million. In an article about 2016 Presidential election fundraiser Mary Pat Bonner, 2012 campaign finance chair Zwick was mentioned in regards "fund-raising fees paid by Mr. Romney's 012campaign committees to limited liability companies established by Mr. Zwick: about $34 million, according to campaign disclosure reports". By April 2012 Romney's financial supporters included Julian Robertson of Tiger Management, Louis Moore Bacon of Moore Capital Management, John Paulson of Paulson & Co., Steven Allen Schwarzman, of
The Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. It was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions firm by Peter G. Peterson, Peter Peterson and Stephen A. Schwarzman, Stephen Schwarzman, who h ...
and Paul Singer of Elliott Management Corporation.


Campaign staff and policy team

* Matt Rhoades, Campaign Manager. Rhoades was communications director of Romney's '08 campaign. He also was a deputy communications research director for the
Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...
during the 2006 election cycle, and a research director for the 2004 Bush campaign. * Chief of staff to the executive director, Kelli Harrison * Advisers, Beth Myers, Peter Flaherty and Eric Fehrnstrom * Strategists, Stuart Stevens and Russell Schriefer, partners and principals at the Stevens & Schriefer Group (SSG). The pair were media consultants on Romney's 2007–08 campaign. They also served as part of the media group on the 2004 George W. Bush presidential campaign, and previously on Bush's 2000 campaign. * Political director, Rich Beeson. Partner at FLS Direct and previously the RNC director for the 2008 election cycle. * Communications director Gail Gitcho. Former communications director to Scott Brown and national press secretary for the RNC. * Digital director Zac Moffatt. Former co-founder and partner of Targeted Victory, a Republican digital strategic consulting firm. * Lanhee Chen, policy director. Chen was chief domestic policy adviser during Romney's 2008 campaign for president. Visiting scholar at the University of California's Institute of Governmental Studies. Previously deputy campaign manager and policy director on California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner's campaign for governor, 2009–10, and senior counselor to the deputy secretary of Health and Human Services.


Foreign Policy and National Security Advisory Team

Romney's foreign policy special advisors were drawn largely from the previous Republican administration. Of the 24 foreign policy advisors, 17 served in the Bush-Cheney administration. * Cofer Black, previously director of the CIA's Counterterrorist Center (CTC) under presidents
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
and
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
, and coordinator for
counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and intelligence agencies use to co ...
under President George W. Bush. Black currently serves as chairman of Total Intelligence Solutions. * Christopher Burnham, Under-Secretary-General of the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
for Management for the
UN Secretary General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...
.
Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder a ...
, and
Under Secretary of State for Management The under secretary of state for management (M) is a position within the United States Department of State that serves as principal adviser to the United States Secretary of State, secretary of state and United States Deputy Secretary of State, d ...
for Condoleezza Rice during the George W. Bush administration. Connecticut State Treasurer from 1995 to 1997. * Michael Chertoff, Secretary of Homeland Security under
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
, co-author of the Patriot Act. * Eliot Cohen, Counselor to the
United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...
under Secretary Condoleezza Rice from 2007 to 2009. * Norm Coleman, United States senator from Minnesota from 2003 to 2009. * John Danilovich, former US ambassador to Costa Rica and later Brazil; former head of Millennium Challenge Corporation. * Paula Dobriansky, 3rd Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs. * Eric Edelman,
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy The United States under secretary of defense for policy (USDP) is a high level civilian official in the United States Department of Defense. The under secretary of defense for policy is the principal staff assistant and adviser to both the Unite ...
under George W Bush. * Michael Hayden, director of NSA and later CIA under
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
. * Kerry Healey, Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts under Romney from 2003 to 2007. * Kim Holmes, vice president, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, and director, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies. * Robert Joseph, senior scholar at the National Institute for Public Policy. * Robert Kagan, foreign policy commentator at the
Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...
. * John F. Lehman,
Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On March 25, 2025, John Phelan was confirm ...
under
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
, member of the 9/11 Commission. * Walid Phares, national terrorism expert * Pierre-Richard Prosper, United States ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues. * Mitchell Reiss, president of Washington College. * Dan Senor, former spokesperson for the
Coalition Provisional Authority The Coalition Provisional Authority (; , CPA) was a Provisional government, transitional government of Iraq established following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, invasion of the country on 19 March 2003 by Multi-National Force – Iraq, U.S.-led Co ...
during Iraq occupation. * Jim Talent, former U.S. senator from Missouri. * Vin Weber, former U.S. representative from Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District. * Richard S. Williamson, 17th assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs. * Dov Zakheim, foreign policy advisor to
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
. * Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, U.S. representative from Florida's 18th Congressional District * Mario Díaz-Balart, U.S. representative from Florida's 21st Congressional District * Lincoln Díaz-Balart, former U.S. representative from Florida's 21st Congressional District


Co-chairs of Romney advisory committees

Economic policy: * R. Glenn Hubbard, dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, where he is also the Russell Carson Professor of Finance and Economics. * Gregory Mankiw, professor of economics at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
. * Jim Talent, former U.S. senator from Missouri. * Vin Weber, former U.S. congressman from Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District. Justice advisory: *
Robert Bork Robert Heron Bork (March 1, 1927 – December 19, 2012) was an American legal scholar who served as solicitor general of the United States from 1973 until 1977. A professor by training, he was acting United States Attorney General and a judge on ...
, judge of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. * Mary Ann Glendon,
professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...
of
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...
at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
and former
United States ambassador to the Holy See The ambassador of the United States to the Holy See is the Ambassadors of the United States, official representative of the United States, United States of America to the Holy See, the leadership of the Catholic Church. The official representati ...
. * Richard E. Wiley, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and founder of Wiley Rein LLP. Labor policy: * Peter Schaumber, former chairman of the
National Labor Relations Board The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States that enforces United States labor law, U.S. labor law in relation to collect ...
. * William Kilberg, partner with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and lead counsel to
Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
in a complaint brought by the
National Labor Relations Board The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States that enforces United States labor law, U.S. labor law in relation to collect ...
challenging Boeing's decision to open a new plant in
Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...
. Veterans policy: * Anthony Principi, the 4th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs under
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
. * Jim Nicholson the 5th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs under
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
. Trade policy: * Carlos Gutierrez, the 35th United States Secretary of Commerce under
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
. * Rod Hunter, senior vice president of international advocacy for Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). * John Herrmann, former member of the
National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...
. Law enforcement: *
William Barr William Pelham Barr (born May 23, 1950) is an American attorney who served as United States Attorney General, United States attorney general in the administration of President George H. W. Bush from 1991 to 1993 and again in the first adminis ...
,
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
under
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
. * Michael Mukasey,
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
under
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
. * George J. Terwilliger III, Deputy Attorney General under
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
. * Mark Filip, Deputy Attorney General under
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
. * Alice S. Fisher, former assistant attorney general under
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
Urban policy: * Rick Baker, former
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
of St. Petersburg, FL. Health care policy: * Scott Atlas, the David and Joan Traitel Senior Fellow at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
's
Hoover Institution The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace and formerly The Hoover Institute and Library on War, Revolution, and Peace) is an American public policy think tank which promotes personal and economic ...
. * Tom Barker, partner at Foley Hoag LLP. * Scott Gottlieb, resident fellow at the
American Enterprise Institute The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right think tank based in Washington, D.C., that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare ...
. * Paul Howard, director of the Manhattan Institute's Center for Medical Progress. * Avik Roy, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. * Tevi Troy, Deputy Secretary of the Health & Human Services (HHS) under
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
.


Campaign for the party nomination

Mitt Romney was one of many competing for the role of Republican nominee for president.


CPAC Straw Poll

Romney won the 2012
Conservative Political Action Conference The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC ) is an annual political conference attended by Conservatism in the United States, conservative Activism, activists and officials from across the United States. CPAC is hosted by the American ...
(CPAC) Straw Poll in February with 38% of the vote. The poll is traditionally considered an important barometer of the sentiments of conservative activists. The ''New York Times'' wrote that the Romney campaign was busing in students from along the East Coast to support Romney. Rick Santorum finished second in the straw poll with 31%. ''
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...
'' reported that the Romney campaign bought CPAC registration tickets to the conference, while the Santorum campaign did not.


Iowa caucuses

Initially, Romney was declared the winner of the 2012 Iowa Republican caucuses, surpassing rival candidate
Rick Santorum Richard John Santorum Sr. ( ; born May 10, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, author, and political commentator who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1995 to 2007. He was the Senate's Chairman of the United Sta ...
by eight votes. Upon official vote count, Santorum was found to have obtained thirty-four more votes than Romney and was declared the winner. Former Iowa Republican Chairman Richard Schwarm stated, "I think people realize it's a tie." The day final results were announced, "Governor Romney called Senator Santorum to congratulate him on the Iowa results," said Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul.


New Hampshire primary

The weekend ahead of the New Hampshire primary on January 10, Romney participated in two debates, which
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
said Romney "weathered well".
Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...
attacked Romney with allegations that he had destroyed companies and fired workers while working for Bain Capital. Romney won the New Hampshire primary with 39.3 percent of the vote.


South Carolina primary

The South Carolina Republican primary was scheduled for Saturday, January 21, 2012. Several polls showed Romney having a slight lead over Gingrich in South Carolina. Gingrich continued to criticize Romney for causing job losses, Rick Perry referred to Romney's role at Bain Capital as ' vulture capitalism', and Sarah Palin stated that Romney needed to prove that Bain actually created 100,000 jobs as Romney has claimed. The negative advertising campaign was mainly sponsored by "Winning Our Future", the super PAC that supports Gingrich. During debates in Myrtle Beach and Charleston, Romney came in second place in the primary with 28% of the vote, behind Newt Gingrich with 40% of the vote, but ahead of Rick Santorum (17%) and Ron Paul (13%).


Florida primary

Polls taken immediately after the South Carolina primary showed Newt Gingrich in the lead but polls released a few days later placed Romney in first place. At least 200,000 Floridians voted via absentee ballots or early voting, a factor thought to favor Romney who aggressively campaigned in Florida in early January. Romney participated in both of the four-man debates that were held on Monday, January 23 and Thursday, January 26. Romney released tax returns for 2010 and estimates for 2011. He showed income over that period of $42.5 million. His effective tax rate for 2010 was 13.9 percent, and he estimated that it would be 15.4 percent for 2011. About $13 million of his income was in " carried interest" and hence eligible for favorable tax treatment under a provision that Democrats have sought to end. It was also disclosed that Romney had investments in the
Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory, and the largest by population. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located so ...
and previously had a
Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...
bank account until it was closed in 2010. On January 31 Romney won the 2012 Florida primary with 46% of the vote.


Nevada caucuses

The Nevada Republican caucuses were held on Saturday, February 4. Less than 33,000 Republicans took part in the Nevada caucuses, which proportionally awards 28 Republican delegates. Romney won 50% of the caucus-goers, followed by Gingrich at 21%, Paul at 19%, and Santorum at 10%. Romney won 14 delegates, whereas Gingrich, Paul, and Santorum were awarded 6, 5, and 3 delegates respectively.


Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri

Rival candidate Rick Santorum surprised observers by winning all the three of the states holding votes on February 7. Romney lost to the former Pennsylvania senator by 5 points in the Colorado caucus, finished third with 17% behind Ron Paul and Santorum in the Minnesota caucuses, and, in a contest that did not actually award any delegates and did not include Newt Gingrich on the ballot, lost the Missouri primary to Santorum by a 30-point margin.


Maine

Romney was initially declared the narrow winner of the Maine Caucus, but the results were subject to a recount after several counties were not counted. Romney was confirmed to have won following the recount.


Michigan and Arizona

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
and
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
held their presidential primaries on Tuesday, February 28, and allocated 29 and 30 Republican delegates, respectively. CNN moderated a Republican primary debate in Mesa, Arizona on February 22, 2012. The Arizona Republican primary is 'winner-take-all' and the Michigan Republican delegate results are allocated proportionately among the candidates by voting district. Romney won the Michigan primary narrowly, and won the Arizona primary by a wide margin.


Washington State

The state of Washington held their caucuses on Saturday, March 3, with Mitt Romney gaining momentum going into 'Super Tuesday'. Later, Washington held their state GOP convention June 2, 2012 giving Romney at least 34 delegates for the Republican National Convention.


Super Tuesday

The largest number of states in the Republican Primary race voted on March 6, 2012, with Romney winning six states (Alaska, Idaho, Massachusetts, Ohio, Vermont, Virginia); Santorum winning three states (North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee); and Gingrich winning Georgia.


Presumptive presidential nominee

After Super Tuesday, Santorum won in Kansas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi, while Ron Paul won the Virgin Islands Caucus. However, Romney maintained a solid lead with wins in Guam, Hawaii, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, Illinois, Wisconsin, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and the Northern Mariana Islands. As a result, Santorum dropped out on April 10. After Romney won the April 24 Delaware primary, Gingrich dropped out on May 2 in a move that was seen as an end to the nomination contest and resulted in the Republican Party declaring Romney the presumptive nominee. While Ron Paul never officially dropped out, he stopped campaigning on May 14. By April 2012, in the absence of viable alternatives to Romney for the Republican nomination, polls showed Romney gaining on Obama's earlier double-digit lead in a hypothetical head-to-head general election contest. However, polls (both nationally and in battleground states like Florida and Ohio) also showed that for most of those who said they would vote for Romney, the primary motivator was hostility toward Obama rather than affirmative support for Romney. On April 25, 2012, the
Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...
(RNC) declared Romney the party's
presumptive nominee Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presel ...
. On May 29,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
held their 2012 Republican primaries, which Romney won. The subsequent accumulation of the state's 155 delegates was enough to secure Romney the party's nomination assuming at least 34 unpledged delegates voted for him, which was very likely. After wins in California and several smaller states on June 5, Romney exceeded 1144 pledged delegates, giving him absolute certainty of the nomination and making the June 26th Utah Primary, the last contest of the cycle, purely symbolic. In July Romney described an Obama
recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the President of the United States, president of a Officer of the United States, federal official when the United States Senate, U.S. Senate is in Recess (motion), recess. Under the ...
as "Chicago-style politics at its worst", introducing the
meme A meme (; ) is an idea, behavior, or style that Mimesis, spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying c ...
into the rhetoric of the 2012 campaign On August 28, 2012, delegates at the
Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...
chose Mitt Romney as their presidential nominee against President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
. This formal nomination set up a two-month final race to the elections on November 6.


General election campaign

The general election campaign began in earnest on
Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...
, September 3, 2012.


Bain Capital

Romney's record at Bain Capital and Bain's investments were a prominent issue, with Romney arguing his tenure at Bain demonstrated management and leadership skills that created thousands of jobs. Political opponents have argued that under Romney, some investments at Bain increased investor profits at the expense of middle-class workers who were laid off. Romney took a leave of absence from Bain Capital in February 1999 to manage the Salt Lake City Olympics. Romney remained named on company documents while reorganization of Bain and according to SEC filings, he continued to be the "sole shareholder, sole director, Chief Executive Officer and President" of Bain for 3 additional years. This discrepancy was reported by ''The Boston Globe'' in July 2012 and used by Obama and his campaign in its ads that Romney was responsible for the activities of Bain Capital during that period, from 1999 to 2002. According to Bain, Romney played no active role despite his name being on the required filings. FactCheck.org examined the issue and reported that Romney did leave Bain in 1999. A report by Glenn Kessler of ''The Washington Post'' reported that there is little or no basis for the assertions by an Obama campaign staffer of criminal charges or civil liability with respect to the SEC filings. Romney's campaign cried foul and Romney personally demanded an apology which was refused by the Obama campaign. In June 2012, former president
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
said that Romney, in having served as governor and having had a "sterling business career", met the basic qualifications to perform the essential functions of the presidency. Clinton also warned that Romney's economic proposals were "wrong-headed" and that a Romney presidency would be "calamitous" for the country and the world.


International trip

In July 2012, Romney undertook an international trip as the presumptive nominee of the Republican party, visiting the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
,
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, and
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
to meet heads of state, and also to raise funds. In
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, his comments in an NBC interview in which he referred to "disconcerting stories" over security concerns regarding readiness of the London
2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
were widely viewed as undiplomatic by the British press and leading politicians. British prime minister
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
defended the Olympic security preparations: "We are holding an Olympic Games in one of the busiest most active bustling cities anywhere in the world. Of course it's easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere. I visited
Naypyidaw Naypyidaw (), officially Romanization of Burmese, romanized as Nay Pyi Taw (NPT), is the capital city, capital and third-largest city of Myanmar. The city is located at the centre of the Naypyidaw Union Territory. It is unusual among Myanmar's ...
recently, in Burma, they've got six-lane highways and no cars on them. This is a busy, bustling city so inevitably you're going to have challenges." While Cameron's aides stated he didn't intend a jibe at Romney or Salt Lake City, the British press seized upon the "middle of nowhere" remark, construing it as an allusion to Utah where Romney had managed the Olympics in 2002.Crawford, Jan
"Gaffe Olympics: Romney rankles Brits, Cameron also offends"
CBS News (July 26, 2012)
In
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
, Romney discussed the possibility of a military strike against Iran with Israeli prime minister
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
and President
Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...
. He also discussed foreign policy regarding Iran with Israeli opposition Leader
Shaul Mofaz Shaul Mofaz (; 4 November 1948) is a retired Israeli military officer and politician. He joined the Israel Defense Forces in 1966 and served in the Paratroopers Brigade. He fought in the Six-Day War, Yom Kippur War, 1982 Lebanon War, and Operati ...
. Romney said that the U.S. has a "solemn duty" to prevent Iran from harming Israel. He made no public promise that he would attack Iran's nuclear facilities if elected, but he reiterated that no option should be off the table in seeking to end Iran's nuclear program, although he hoped that diplomatic measures and economic sanctions would be successful. Romney called Jerusalem the capital of Israel, and later said that he would plan to move the U.S. embassy from
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
to Jerusalem, but would decide the timing of the move in consultation with the government of Israel. The
Palestinian Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...
and other Palestinian organizations denounced Romney's remarks about the political status of Jerusalem, which they hope will become the capital of a future Palestinian state, as well as Romney's refusal to meet with Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas Mahmoud Abbas (; born 15 November 1935), also known by the Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Mazen (, ), is a Palestinian politician who has been serving as the second president of Palestine and the President of the Palestinian National Authority, P ...
(he met instead with PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad). Some Palestinian leaders were also offended by remarks Romney made during a fundraiser, when he suggested that cultural differences and "the hand of providence" help explain why Israelis are more economically successful than Palestinians, and why similar economic disparities exist between other neighbors, such as the United States and Mexico, or Chile and Ecuador. A senior aide to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called the remarks racist, as did American political scientist Angelo Falcón, president of the National Institute of Latino Policy. The Embassy of Mexico in the United States also rejected Romney's comments, noting that Mexico currently has a higher economic growth rate and lower inflation than the United States. Romney later denied that his comments had been directed against "Palestinian culture or the decisions made in their economy."''Romney's Racist Reference To Palestinian Culture'', FactCheck.org, July 31, 2012
Retrieved August 1, 2012
In
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
, Romney called Poland a model of small government and free enterprise whose example other states should emulate. He praised Poland for rejecting "the false promise of a government-dominated economy" and for seeking to "stimulate innovation, attract investment, expand trade, and live within its means". Romney also thanked the Polish people for supporting the U.S. in many conflicts. Romney briefly mentioned
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, listing the country alongside
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
,
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
and
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
, as examples of countries where "the desire to be free is met with brutal oppression". When American journalists tried to question Romney during a visit to Warsaw's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, his campaign spokesman told journalists: "Kiss my ass. This is a holy site for the Polish people," and told a reporter to "shove it". The spokesman later apologized for the outburst. In
Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...
,
Solidarność Solidarity (, ), full name Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarity" ( , abbreviated ''NSZZ „Solidarność”''), is a Polish trade union founded in August 1980 at the Gdańsk Shipyard, Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Polish People's Rep ...
co-founder and former Polish president Lech Walesa endorsed Romney for president, but Solidarność's current leadership distanced itself from the event and criticized Romney as hostile to unions and labor rights.


NAACP speech

Romney accepted an invitation to address the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...
(NAACP) on July 11, 2012. On the issue of creating jobs, Romney said, "If our goal is jobs, we have to stop spending over a trillion dollars more than we take in every year. So to do that, I'm going to eliminate every non-essential, expensive program I can find. That includes Obamacare, and I'm going to work to reform and save --" Romney was cut off by prolonged boos from those in attendance. Romney later attended a fundraiser in Hamilton, Montana and reflected on the booing he received at the NAACP event, "Remind them of this: if they want more stuff from government, tell them to go vote for the other guy – more free stuff. But don't forget, nothing is really free."


Vice presidential selection

According to the book '' Double Down'', Romney's campaign narrowed down his list of potential nominees for
vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
to former governor of Minnesota Tim Pawlenty,
United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...
from
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
Rob Portman, eventual
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
presidential candidates Senator Marco Rubio from
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
and
Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician and former United States Attorney, federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party (United States) ...
of
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
, and longtime U.S. Representative
Paul Ryan Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member of the ...
of
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
. A vet of each candidate was conducted at a high level of secrecy and dubbed "Project Goldfish". The vetting team, led by experienced Republican operative Beth Myers, gave each member of the short list a fish-themed nickname: "Lakefish" for Minnesotan Pawlenty, "Pescado" for Hispanic Rubio, "Filet-O-Fish" for Ohioan Portman, "Fishconsin" for Janesville native Ryan, and finally "Pufferfish" for the stout Christie. Having returned from his overseas tour of the United Kingdom, Israel, and Poland, Romney planned a bus tour of Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida with his then-yet to be announced running mate. On August 10, 2012, it was announced that Romney would introduce his running mate on August 11, 2012, in
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
, after touring the '' USS Wisconsin'', leading several news sources to speculate that his choice would be Ryan. Shortly after 7 a.m. on August 11, the Romney campaign officially announced Ryan as its choice for vice president through its mobile app titled "Mitt's VP". This decision made Ryan the major parties' first-ever vice-presidential candidate from
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
.


"You didn't build that"

On July 13, 2012, Obama gave a speech in
Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It lies in Southwest Virginia, along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanok ...
, that contained the phrase "you didn't build that":Remarks by the President at a Campaign Event in Roanoke, Virginia , The White House
Whitehouse.gov (2012-07-13). Retrieved August 1, 2012.
Republicans claimed that the statement was indicative of Obama's support for big government. The Obama campaign said the statement was taken out of context, while Romney replied that 'the context is worse than the quote'. The Republican National Committee released a web ad with the full text of what Obama said titled, "The More Context You Get, The Worse It Sounds." The following Monday, July 16,
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
spoke about the "you didn't build that" statement in a campaign stump speech in
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, saying: The Obama campaign, Factcheck.org, and Politifact disagreed with that characterization, noting that the sentence immediately preceding the "you didn't build it" line referred to roads and bridges and the speech concluded with Obama applauding the hard work of individuals in the creation of their own businesses. Politifact rated Romney's attack as false. In its analysis, Factcheck.org said: Factcheck.org concluded their analysis by acknowledging that Romney provided a more complete account in a July 17 speech. Regarding government infrastructure and support, Romney stated: The Romney campaign followed with events with
small business Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have a small number of employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being ...
owners in multiple states (Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Virginia, Ohio, Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Nevada), along with an attack ad. A new part of the Romney campaign website was created and merchandise related to the statement was produced.


Convention and post-convention bounce

The 2012 Republican National Convention was held from August 27–30. It featured appearances by Ann Romney, Chris Christie, Paul Ryan, Clint Eastwood, and Mitt Romney. While Romney's overall polling gains from the GOP convention were modest, the convention did improve his "likability" rating, even though he continued to trail Obama in this widely considered "critical" category. This was followed by a larger bounce in Obama's favor after the Democratic convention.


Cairo and Benghazi attacks

On September 11, 2012, the U.S. embassy in Cairo, anticipating possible unrest over an anti-Muslim film that had allegedly been produced in the United States, released statements denouncing "the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims" and calling respect for religious beliefs of others "a cornerstone of American democracy". Hours later, U.S. diplomatic missions in Cairo, Egypt and Benghazi, Libya were attacked. After the attack the U.S. embassy in Cairo tweeted, "This morning's condemnation (issued before our protests began) still stands. As does our condemnation of unjustified breach of the Embassy." In her initial remarks to the press, U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
stated, "I condemn in the strongest terms the attack on our mission in
Benghazi Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...
today." Romney, apparently unaware of the chronology of the events that had unfolded, released a statement saying, "It's disgraceful that the Obama Administration's first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks." By the following day, it had been confirmed that the U.S. ambassador to Libya had been one of several Americans killed in the Benghazi attack. In a televised press conference and an interview, Romney again asserted that the administration had been wrong to, in his view, sympathize with the attackers and apologize for American values rather than to condemn the attackers' actions. Romney's remarks were widely criticized by media sources regarding the course of events and by political commentators for leaving Romney open to the appearance of seeking to gain personal political advantage from a national tragedy. Republicans initially distanced themselves from Romney's comments, but as he came under increasing criticism for the timing and nature of his comments, several conservative politicians defended his remarks.


Vote mobilization problems

Romney replaced the traditional GOTV system with the centralized Project Orca. The project failed to mobilize 40,000 volunteers in key states during the election day.


Media issues


First TV advertisement and questions about context

In his previous campaign, Romney had begun television advertising in March 2007. In the 2012 cycle, however, his first advertisement did not air until November 2011. The 60-second spot, which was broadcast in
New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, was widely criticized for using a quotation from Obama out of context. It included a clip of Obama apparently saying, "If we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose." It did not disclose that Obama, speaking in the 2008 campaign, had been quoting an email from an aide to his opponent,
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
, which concerned McCain's campaign strategy, not Obama's. The Romney campaign defended the ad. According to ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'', "Romney aides even said they were proud of the reaction and suggested that the ad was deliberately misleading to garner attention." Romney campaign adviser Eric Fehrnstrom stated: "It was all very deliberate. We want to engage him on the subject he wants to avoid, which is his failure to create jobs and get this economy moving again." In an article on the Romney campaign website, communications director Gail Gitcho wrote "Three years ago, candidate Barack Obama mocked his opponent's campaign for saying 'if we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose.' Now, President Obama's campaign is desperate not to talk about the economy." Fact checking organization Politifact gave the Romney campaign a "pants on fire" rating for "distorting Obama's words, which have been taken out of context in a ridiculously misleading way," while another
fact-checking Fact-checking is the process of verifying the factual accuracy of questioned reporting and statements. Fact-checking can be conducted before or after the text or content is published or otherwise disseminated. Internal fact-checking is such che ...
organization, FactCheck.org, declined to assess whether that particular clip in the Romney ad was misleading, and instead said: "We won't quibble with the spot's main message, which is that Obama has failed to fix the economy. That's true enough." According to ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', when the Obama camp put material on television that made "no effort to put any of Mr. Romney's statements into context", the Romney campaign responded by saying that Obama was trying to distract Americans from real issues such as high unemployment.


Work requirement for welfare

In July and August 2012, Romney ran a recurring ad claiming that President Obama wanted to remove the work requirement for welfare recipients. Multiple news outlets and fact checking agencies rated the Romney ad false, Politifact assigning it the rating of "pants on fire". FactCheck.org stated: "A Mitt Romney TV ad claims the Obama administration has adopted 'a plan to gut welfare reform by dropping work requirements.' The plan does neither of those things." Eugene Kiely, Rina Moss.
"Does Obama's Plan 'Gut Welfare Reform'?"
, FactCheck.org (August 9, 2012).
Factcheck.org elaborated that the waivers will not "inherently" gut the work requirements, because a lot will depend upon what kind of waivers states propose; moreover, "the way the administration implemented the new policy has not helped", because of questions about whether Congress ever granted to the president any legal authority to issue the waivers.


Dog incident

In 2007, the ''
Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' reported that, in 1983, Romney transported his pet dog Seamus on the roof of their automobile.
Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...
aired an anti-Romney attack ad that featured the story, while
Rick Santorum Richard John Santorum Sr. ( ; born May 10, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, author, and political commentator who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1995 to 2007. He was the Senate's Chairman of the United Sta ...
stated it was relevant as an issue of character.


Etch A Sketch

Eric Fehrnstrom, a top aide to Romney, was asked by comedian and political commentator John Fugelsang on CNN how their campaigning would change if and when Romney wins the Republican nomination. He answered it would be like an Etch A Sketch to shake-up and start over. Immediately, Santorum and Gingrich took the opportunity to say Romney flip-flops and was not a true conservative. Each held up an Etch A Sketch toy as a visual aid to their audiences. Ron Paul created a short ad saying "this is petty when we have $15 trillion in debt, 12 million unemployed, and USA at war." Following the incident the Ohio Art Company saw a 30% increase in sales of Etch A Sketches. Mitt Romney explained the words of his advisor by saying, "A general election campaign takes on a different profile. The issues I'm running on will be exactly the same. I was a conservative Republican governor, and I'll be running as a conservative Republican nominee." A poll by
Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center (also simply known as Pew) is a nonpartisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the world. It ...
taken in the days after the event found that a majority of voters were unaware that the comment had even been said, with a plurality of those that had heard of it saying that it had no effect on their opinion of Romney.


Little Face Mitt and other memes

Many called the 2012 presidential election the first real social media election, and the number of
memes A meme (; ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ...
it engendered reflects that. Notable contributions included a
Bad Lip Reading Bad Lip Reading is a YouTube channel created and run by an anonymous producer who intentionally lip-reading, lip-reads video clips poorly, for comedic effect. ''Rolling Stone'' described the channel as "the breakout hit" of the 2012 United State ...
video, a campaign similar in scope to the campaign for the neologism "santorum" which aimed to create an alternate definition (or
homophone A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning or in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (past tense of "rise"), or spelled differently, a ...
) for "romney" that referred to "defecating in terror", and also the binders full of women gaffe. Perhaps most popular was the "Little Face Mitt" meme, which was created on August 22 by humorist Reuben Glaser. It showed a depiction of Romney with his facial features "shrunken" within an ordinary-scale blank outline of his face; the result resembled a '' Dick Tracy'' comic-strip villain. Within its first four days it had garnered the attention of Gawker,
UPROXX Uproxx Studios (stylized as ''UPROXX'') is an American music, entertainment and popular culture website and content studio. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater. The website was acquired in 2014 by Woven Digital (which later ...
,
CollegeHumor Dropout, incorporated as CH Media and formerly known as CollegeHumor, is an Internet comedy company based in Los Angeles that produces content for release on its streaming service Dropout (streaming platform), Dropout as well as YouTube. Dropou ...
,
BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet mass media, media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John Seward Johnson III, John S. Johnson III to ...
, PostSecret, '' Mother Jones'', Funny or Die and MSNBC's Alex Wagner. An Obama staffer claimed they were later used as desktop backgrounds on computers in his 2012 reelection headquarters in Chicago. At the end of its four-month tenure, Little Face Mitt had also been covered in ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
'', ''
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' magazine,
Mashable Mashable is a Online newspaper, news website, digital media platform and entertainment company founded by Pete Cashmore in 2005. History Mashable was founded by Pete Cashmore while living in Aberdeen, Scotland, in July 2004. Early iterations o ...
, ''
Boing Boing ''Boing Boing'' is a website, first established as a zine in 1988, later becoming a group blog. Common topics and themes include technology, futurism, science fiction, gadgets, intellectual property, Disney, and left-wing politics. It twice wo ...
'' and many local print publications and online news websites. Glaser was also interviewed by the ''
Washington Examiner The ''Washington Examiner'' is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative news magazine based in Washington, D.C., consisting of a website and a weekly printed magazine. It is owned by Philip Anschutz through MediaDC, a subsidiar ...
'', ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', ''
The Daily Dot ''The Daily Dot'' is a digital media company covering the culture of the Internet and the World Wide Web. It was founded by Nicholas White in 2011, and is headquartered in Austin, Texas. The site, conceived as the Internet's "hometown newsp ...
'', '' The Young Turks'' and in articles from as far away as
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. The ''
International Business Times The ''International Business Times'' is an American online newspaper that publishes five national editions in four languages. The publication, sometimes called ''IBTimes'' or ''IBT'', offers news, opinion and editorial commentary on business and ...
'' credited Little Face Mitt and its images as being one of the best political memes ever and described its notoriety as a "foray into the internet's lexicon" for Mitt Romney, and as "immortality".


Tax returns

Due to pressure from political rivals during the Republican primary campaign, Romney released an incomplete 2010 tax return in early January 2012, along with an estimate of the 2011 return. During the presidential campaign, he declined to disclose additional returns citing the matter as a distraction from more important issues, despite calls to do so by Democrats and several notable Republicans. Republicans who urged Romney to release his tax returns include former Mississippi governor Haley Barbour, Michael Steele and
Bill Kristol William Kristol (; born December 23, 1952) is an American neoconservative writer. A frequent commentator on several networks including CNN, he was the founder and editor-at-large of the political magazine ''The Weekly Standard''. Kristol is edi ...
. George Will said "The cost of not releasing the returns are clear. Therefore, he must have calculated that there are higher costs in releasing them." Republican strategist Matthew Dowd said, "There's obviously something there, because if there was nothing there, he would say, 'Have at it.' So there's obviously something there that compromises what he said in the past about something." In response to claims made to the contrary, Romney said that he never paid less than 13% in taxes over the past 10 years. Romney stated in a ''Parade'' magazine interview that he didn't want to release his tax returns because he would like to keep his tithing to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints private, though he has publicly released his tithing percentages for 2010 (7%) and 2011 (12%). For their 2011 tax returns, the Romneys paid nearly $2 million in taxes on an income of $13.7 million for an effective tax rate of 14.1%. They gave almost $4 million to charity, but only claimed $2.25 million in deductions in order to maintain his campaign pledge to pay at least 13% of his income in federal taxes. The summary prepared by PwC stated the Romney's effective tax rate paid had averaged 20.2% from 1990 to 2009.


Doctored Video Controversy

MSNBC anchor Andrea Mitchell showed an edited video clip of Romney at a rally in
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
. In the edited version, Romney says how amazing ordering a sandwich with a touch screen device at a Wawa convenience store is. Andrea Mitchell claimed that his apparent enthusiasm belied that he might be out of touch with many Americans who would eat at a restaurant like Wawa's very regularly. Controversy arose when it was revealed that the clip was edited to remove the portion which showed Romney relating the story of an optometrist he met, who had faced an extensive amount of paperwork from the post office to change his address. Romney was commenting on his efficient experience at Wawa's to highlight his belief that the private sector is often more efficient than government, a point that was not evident without the full context of his remarks.


Video of private fundraiser

On September 17, excerpts from a video recorded on hidden camera were published by '' Mother Jones'' showing Romney speaking at a private $50,000-a-plate fundraiser held at hedge fund manager Marc Leder's mansion in
Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and it ranked as the 23rd-largest city in Florida in 2022. Many people with a Boca Raton Address, ...
. The magazine learned of the video from James Earl Carter IV, a Democratic opposition researcher (and a grandson of former U.S. president
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
), who found the video online and got the videographer in touch with a writer at the magazine. On March 13, 2013, on
MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...
's '' The Ed Show'', Scott Prouty, a bartender at the event, revealed himself as the videographer.


47% comment

In the video, recorded May 17, Romney responded to a question about his campaign strategy, saying:


Responses

In a press conference convened the night of the video's publication, Romney told reporters that while his "off the cuff" remarks could have been more eloquently stated, he had been conveying an important message: that his proposals to lower the Federal Income Tax would not be as persuasive to those who are not paying that particular tax. "The president believes in what I've described as a government-centered society, where government plays a larger and larger role, provides for more and more of the needs of individuals. And I happen to believe instead in a free enterprise, free individual society where people pursuing their dreams are able to employ one another, build enterprises, build the strongest economy in the world." Several weeks later, Romney commented, "I was completely wrong". Conservative columnist Peggy Noonan called the Romney campaign "incompetent" and "a rolling calamity", and argued that the Romney campaign "needs a new CEO". Columnist David Brooks wrote " omney isrunning a depressingly inept presidential campaign. Mr. Romney, your entitlement reform ideas are essential, but when will the incompetence stop?" Conservative writer
Bill Kristol William Kristol (; born December 23, 1952) is an American neoconservative writer. A frequent commentator on several networks including CNN, he was the founder and editor-at-large of the political magazine ''The Weekly Standard''. Kristol is edi ...
initially described Romney's remarks as "arrogant and stupid" (a comment he later said "might have been a tad harsh"), but ultimately stood by Romney, saying, "It remains important for the country that Romney wins in November (unless he chooses to step down and we get the Ryan-Rubio ticket we deserve!)." Several Republicans campaigning for seats in the 2012 election disputed or criticized Romney's remarks, including Senate candidates Linda McMahon (CT), George Allen (VA), Sen. Dean Heller (NV), Sen. Scott Brown (MA), and Gov. Susana Martinez (NM). Some conservative Republicans, such as Erick Erickson and
Rush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative political commentator who was the host of ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nati ...
, defended Romney's 47% remark. PolitiFact has rated the 47% remark as factually true, assuming Romney was referring to the federal income tax—the reasons being that many Americans were so poor as to be exempt from it, and others qualified for enough breaks and other exemptions that their tax liability amounted to zero. During the vice presidential debate, after
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
criticized Romney's comments, Ryan responded, "With respect to that quote, I think the vice president very well knows that sometimes the words don't come out of your mouth the right way", referring to Biden's reputation for gaffes. President Obama stated in an interview with
David Letterman David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer, and auto racing team owner. He hosted late-night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982, debut of ''Late N ...
, "My expectation is if you want to be president, you've got to work for everybody, not just for some". Several commentators noted that 47% was also Romney's share of the popular vote (rounded to the nearest percentage point), a result some considered ironic. Obama had led 50%–48% on election night, but the results edged toward 51%–47% as counting continued over the following weeks. Despite downplaying the original remarks during the campaign, Romney stated soon after the election that President Obama won the election by promising "gifts" to key Democratic voters such as the black and Hispanic communities.


Israeli–Palestinian peace process

The video also showed Romney expressing doubt over whether the Palestinians were fully invested in working toward the success of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. He said the Palestinians are "committed to the destruction and elimination of Israel". In response, Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat said "only those who want to maintain the Israeli occupation will claim the Palestinians are not interested in peace."


Iran

Another part of the video shows Romney saying: Analysts noted that a dirty bomb requires only
radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...
materials, not
fissile In nuclear engineering, fissile material is material that can undergo nuclear fission when struck by a neutron of low energy. A self-sustaining thermal Nuclear chain reaction#Fission chain reaction, chain reaction can only be achieved with fissil ...
materials like those from a nuclear weapons program.


Candidate statements and campaign ads on GM and Chrysler auto production in China

Statements by Romney and his campaign have been called false by automakers
Chrysler FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...
and
General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
(GM). During the final weeks of the campaign, the Romney campaign began to promote the idea that as a result of the Obama Administration's bailout of the automotive industry, U.S.-based auto manufacturing jobs would be outsourced to China. ''
Bloomberg News Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg T ...
'' had reported on October 21 that
Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...
, the majority owner of Chrysler (the maker of
Jeep Jeep is an American automobile brand, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with other assets, from its previous owner, American Motors Co ...
s), was considering restarting production lines in China that had been idle since 2009. The article quoted Fiat/Chrysler's chief operating officer for Asia as saying that Jeep production sites would be added to China rather than shifted from current production sites in North America. On October 25, Romney said at a rally in the key battleground state of Ohio, "I saw a story today that one of the great manufacturers in this state Jeep — now owned by the Italians — is thinking of moving all production to China." Within hours, Chrysler responded, saying in part: Two days later, on October 27, Romney began airing a television ad in Ohio that said, "Obama took GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy, and sold Chrysler to Italians who are going to build Jeeps in China." Media observers noted that the campaign had taken the highly unusual step of releasing the ad without announcing the release to the press. Chrysler's CEO Sergio Marchionne responded, saying that the claim that production of Jeeps would be transferred from the U.S. to China, leaving U.S. factories idle, was completely false. He also said that not only would Jeep production lines remain in operation in the U.S. but Chrysler would be investing $500 million to expand production at the Toledo, Ohio Jeep plant. In spite of the denials by the auto manufacturer, the Romney campaign subsequently began airing a new radio ad in Ohio that repeated the false claim that Jeep would be cutting Ohio jobs in order to expand into China. The radio ad also said that the other auto manufacturer that had received government assistance during the auto manufacturer crisis, GM, was moving 15,000 American jobs to China. A GM representative denounced the Romney ad, saying, "We've clearly entered some parallel universe during these last few days.... No amount of campaign politics at its cynical worst will diminish our record of creating jobs in the U.S. and repatriating profits back to this country." In December, Politifact described Romney's Jeep comments as their "Lie of the Year" for 2012. As of 2018, the Ohio automobile factory at the center of the dispute, Toledo Complex, remains open and employs more workers than it did in 2009. Nonetheless, Chrysler has moved some of its production elsewhere; its Jeep Cherokee line was moved into
Belvidere, Illinois Belvidere is a city in and the county seat of Boone County, Illinois, United States. It is settled on the Kishwaukee River in far northern Illinois. Known as the 'City of Murals', Belvidere is home to several public art installations througho ...
and Changsha, China. The Changsha factory has begun production on 8 lines of Jeep-branded vehicles, partly as a response to rising demand from China's market.


General election debates

Romney had his first general election debate against Obama on October 3 in Denver, Colorado on domestic topics. Snap polls shortly after the debate by CNN and others found that many people believe Romney did significantly better than Obama in the first debate, sometimes referred to the change in pace of the election. Subsequent public opinion polls showed the debate had eliminated most of the gains in the polls that Obama had made over Romney after the two parties' national conventions. On October 11, Romney's running mate Paul Ryan debated Vice President Joe Biden, in the only vice presidential debate of the 2012 election cycle. Topics covered included the stimulus, the abortion debate, and foreign policy. The second presidential debate was a Townhall on October 16. The debate was noted for its heated exchanges, and had targeted discussions of Libya, immigration, and pay equity for women. During the second debate, Romney was perceived to have struggled compared to his previous performance. Polls conducted by CBS, CNN, and
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
/
Ipsos Ipsos Group S.A. (; derived from the Latin expression, ) is a multinational market research and consulting firm with headquarters in Paris, France. The company was founded in 1975 by Didier Truchot, Chairman of the company, and has been publ ...
found a plurality of voters who believed Obama had done better. During the debates Romney said that he would charge China with currency manipulation. China responded that it would show "gradual progress and voluntarily reform China's exchange rate regime". The third and final debate between Romney and Obama was held two weeks before election day, on October 23 in Boca Raton, Florida. The topics discussed included a variety of foreign affairs and domestic policy issues. According to ''The Guardian'', Romney "appeared unsure at times and occasionally stumbled over his lines as if struggling to remember his briefing notes". Many viewers also noted that Romney was perspiring, which reminded some Twitter users of Richard Nixon's 1960 presidential debate. Instant polls by Public Policy Polling, CNN, and CBS showed that more viewers felt Obama had won the debate than felt that Romney had.


Election day activities

An attempt to apply security through obscurity to protect Romney's voting day smartphone based project ORCA ran aground when the system crashed under the full load of coordinating a nationwide election day effort. Another disadvantage of the ORCA system was that unlike Obama's Narwhal, ORCA only counted known voters and so predicted a Romney sweep, even as Obama's volunteers were bringing in voters that the Romney campaign had not expected.


Romney Readiness Project

A presidential transition was contingently planned from Obama to Romney in accordance with the Pre-Election Presidential Transition Act of 2010, made extensive pre-election plans for a potential transition, the Romney campaign called the "Romney Readiness Project" should he be elected president. Former governor of Utah Mike Leavitt was selected in June 2012 by Romney to lead the planning for the project, which included a "200-day plan" outlining the legislative agenda of the first 200 days of a Romney administration. Leavitt, along with Beth Myers and Bob White, had formed a list of ten candidates for each Cabinet position to aid Romney in making appointments to those positions. The operation included task forces for transitioning specific areas of the federal government.


Planning

Known internally as "The Readiness Project", transition planning began in April 2012, several months before the 2012 Republican National Convention. Led by Chairman Mike Leavitt and Executive Director Chris Liddell, it consisted of a skeleton staff of four until August, when additional employees were retained. The staff eventually grew to almost 300 people. Other senior executives within the project included Robert Zoellick and Al Hubbard. Activities undertaken by the Readiness Project included preparing policy briefings for
civil servants The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...
at federal agencies, which would be delivered by "parachute teams" following the election; creating a list of candidates to fill the several hundred political appointments made by the president; coordinating with the Obama administration for the transfer of occupancy of presidential residences, including the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
and the
Number One Observatory Circle Number One Observatory Circle is the official residence of the vice president of the United States. Located on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., the house was built in 1893 for the observatory's superintendent. The ...
; liaising with the
United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...
for the assumption of National Command Authority and launch control of
nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear exp ...
s; and developing a post-election communications plan, which reportedly included a 1,000-word victory speech Romney would deliver. These included "landing" teams to be deployed to governmental agencies two weeks post-election and "beachhead" teams to guide the transition following Romney's would-be inauguration on January 20. The transition planning effort was divided into four segments, two of which were executed: the "readiness phase", which lasted from June until the 2012 Republican National Convention and the "planning phase", which lasted from the convention until election day. Two additional phases were planned, but were not executed owing to Romney's loss: the "transition phase" and the "hand-off phase", both of which would have occurred post-election and would have culminated in the transition team's plan for the first 200 days following Romney's would-be inauguration as president. In accordance with the Pre-Election Presidential Transition Act of 2010, the project was provided with office space by the
General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. G ...
(GSA) beginning in September 2012, two months prior to the election. The offices of the Readiness Project were shuttered and completely cleared within three days following Romney's defeat. Total spending by the Readiness Project between its inception and dissolution was $8.9 million, with those costs paid by the U.S. government.


Contingency

The Romney team was reported as having shaken off the fear of appearing presumptuous, a fear that hampered the Obama team and hindered them from making adequate transition preparations. In contrast with the Obama presidential transition, Leavitt communicated directly with
White House Chief of Staff The White House chief of staff is the head of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, a position in the federal government of the United States. The chief of staff is a Political appointments in the United States, politi ...
Jack Lew, and the two coordinated a plan, putting members of the transition team in charge of various government departments in direct communication with members of the Obama administration. Leavitt described his new style of transition team as "essentially a federal government in miniature".


Romney transition website

On November 7, 2012, the evening of the election, the Readiness Project's transition website, declaring Romney's victory, was accidentally pushed live, but was quickly taken down again. Its
catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
s were "Smaller, Simpler, Smarter" over "Believe in America". Blogger Taegan Goddard took
screenshot A screenshot (also known as screen capture or screen grab) is an analog or digital image that shows the contents of a computer display. A screenshot is created by a (film) camera shooting the screen or the operating system An operating sys ...
s of the site while it was live, showing pages linked from the front page headed "The President-Elect" (with details about "The Inauguration"), "Believe in America", "Newsroom", and "Join the Administration". The site was built by a Utah-based web development company, SolutionStream, whose owner confirmed that the site had been prepared for Romney.


Report

In May 2013, the organization formerly responsible for the Romney transition preparation, "R2P", published a 138-page report detailing the preparations for a potential Romney administration, entitled ''Romney Readiness Project 2012: Retrospectives and Lessons Learned''. In the report, specific aspects of the transition were described, including post-election, pre-inauguration "corporate-style" management seminars for appointees/nominees and a restructuring of the
Executive Office of the President The Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP) comprises the offices and agencies that support the work of the president at the center of the executive branch of the United States federal government. The office consists o ...
to satisfy Romney's preferences, along with a PowerPoint presentation prepared to brief a President-elect Romney in the days immediately following the election. In the foreword, Romney wrote, "My campaign was not successful but our Readiness Project team was."


Impact

The Edward "Ted" Kaufman and Michael Leavitt Presidential Transitions Improvements Act of 2015 was named in Leavitt's honor and also in honor of the head of the Obama transition team. The organization said, "The new law creates a federal overseer for the presidential transition and requires each agency to name a person to manage the process." Leavitt agreed to work on the planning for Donald Trump's presidential transition, even though he had not endorsed Trump. According to ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', Leavitt is regarded as an "evangelist for how to run an effective presidential transition". Leavitt stated that he was lending the Trump team his "unique experience" because " untries are vulnerable during transitions and I see this as a very—almost obligation—to contribute to the country. This is a very serious thing."


Post-campaign matters

Romney "seems preoccupied with the futures of members of his campaign staff" and is working on a "system to organize the 400 résumés of those staff members whose paychecks will run out in 21 days." The Romney campaign has arranged for "severance pay through the end of November" for some members of his campaign staff.


Explanations for the loss

In interviews after the election, Romney said of his loss, "The president's campaign, if you will, focused on giving targeted groups a big gift. He made a big effort on small things." Robert Draper in the ''
New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazin ...
'' summarized interviews with technology savvy young Republicans to conclude that the Romney campaign's inability to understand and use modern technology caused Romney to lose a winnable election. "Criticism begins with the candidate—a self described data-driven chief executive who put his trust in alarmingly off-the-mark internal polls." In contrast, the Obama campaign repeatedly and exhaustively polled and directed the actual expressed day-to-day shifting opinions of the electorate through such technological mediums as
Reddit Reddit ( ) is an American Proprietary software, proprietary social news news aggregator, aggregation and Internet forum, forum Social media, social media platform. Registered users (commonly referred to as "redditors") submit content to the ...
,
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
,
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
, and
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
. "Romney's senior strategist, Stuart Stevens, may well be remembered by historians . . . as the last guy to run a presidential campaign who never tweeted" to get out the vote and to elicit real-time electorate feelings from all ethnic groups, all gender persuasions, and from rich and poor.


See also

* Independent Voter Research * Political positions of Mitt Romney * George Romney 1968 presidential campaign * Mitt Romney 2008 presidential campaign * List of Mitt Romney 2012 presidential campaign endorsements * Nationwide opinion polling for the 2012 United States presidential election * Endorsements in the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries * 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries * 2012 Republican Party vice presidential candidate selection * 2012 Republican National Convention *
2012 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Democratic Party (United States), Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Joe Bi ...
*
Barack Obama 2012 presidential campaign On April 4, 2011, Barack Obama, the List of presidents of the United States, 44th president of the United States, announced his candidacy for re-election as president. On September 5, 2012, he again became the nominee of the Democratic Party ...
* Results of the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries


References


Bibliography

*


External links


Mitt Romney 2012
official campaign website



* *
Campaign Contributions made by Mitt Romney
at NewsMeat
Press releases as Governor of Massachusetts 2003–2007
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitt Romney Presidential Campaign, 2012 Mitt Romney Paul Ryan Romney, Mitt Romney, Mitt 2012 presidential campaign