Thread: Romney targets McCain on senator's home turf

Romney targets McCain on senator's home turf
Ex-Mass. governor does well raising funds in Az for race
By MIKE MADDEN
Published: 04.20.2007
WASHINGTON - John McCain has represented Arizona in the House and Senate for 25 years, but try telling that to Mitt Romney.
The former Massachusetts governor, a top rival of McCain's for the Republican nomination for president next year, has worked aggressively to build an organization on McCain's Arizona turf.
It's paying off.
Beating his finance team's goals, Romney raised $659,460 in Arizona between January and the end of March, paperwork filed with federal regulators last weekend showed. That's more than any other candidate for president, Democrat or Republican, besides McCain, who raised $1.2 million, about twice Romney's take.
Just seven other states sent more money to fund Romney's campaign in the first quarter.
"It's something that (former New York Mayor Rudolph) Giuliani doesn't have. It's something that nobody else has besides Senator McCain," said Jason Rose, a Scottsdale political strategist and publicist who is Romney's state director.
"Arizona placed eighth in the country in Romney's fundraising in the first quarter, and that's a result of the time that he spent here previously and the network that he put in place," Rose said.
Giuliani, the other leading Republican candidate, raised $191,550 in Arizona, the 12th biggest state in his fundraising drive.
No Democrat raised more than about $64,000 in the state.
McCain aides said Romney's support in the state didn't compare to his.
"Sen. John McCain has been elected to represent Arizona for over 20 years, and he has served his constituency very well," spokesman Tucker Bounds said. "He has the best political organization and the greatest amount of support of any of the candidates. . . . He's an Arizona conservative."
When it comes to votes, Arizona should still be solid McCain territory Feb. 5, when the state will hold its primary alongside at least a dozen others.
McCain beat then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush 60 percent to 35.7 percent in 2000, even though Bush was on his way to winning the Republican nomination by then.
Sen. Jon Kyl, a fellow Arizona Republican, chairs McCain's campaign in the state, and U.S. House members Jeff Flake, Rick Renzi and John Shadegg have endorsed McCain.
With so many other states holding primaries on the same day, McCain's rivals may not bother putting many resources into Arizona.
But a Romney spokeswoman at his Boston headquarters, Gail Gitcho, said, "Every state is important to us."
In Arizona, Rose said, Romney would be in a good position to win the state if McCain were to drop out of the race.
"Politics can change on a dime," Rose said. "While most people, myself included, think that Sen. McCain is going to remain in this thing despite some difficult times, you never know. You just never know how the rest of the year is going to go."
Romney began laying the groundwork for a fundraising network in Arizona nearly four years ago, then visited the state again last year to meet with a small group that would go on to co-chair the finance committee for his Arizona operation.
One early backer was Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who has feuded publicly with McCain for eight years.
Arpaio endorsed Bush in 2000, and McCain later endorsed Arpaio's opponent, Dan Saban, in the 2004 election.
Arpaio is the honorary co-chairman of Romney's Arizona campaign and frequently calls in to conservative talk radio shows, where he was already well known because of his crackdowns on illegal immigrants, to tout Romney's bid.
"This isn't an issue about McCain and me. It's an issue about who would make the better president," Arpaio said. "That's all I care about."
Within Arizona, Mesa was Romney's single biggest source of cash, with residents sending $237,810, according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Phoenix was second, accounting for $109,675. Paradise Valley, Gilbert and Scottsdale rounded out Romney's top-five cities in the state.
The large Mormon communities in the East Valley were natural fundraising targets, said Paul Gilbert, a Scottsdale real estate lawyer who is, like Romney, Mormon.
Still, Gilbert and other supporters warned not to overplay the extent to which Romney's religion helped generate excitement for his campaign.
"Many of the contributors are not coming from the (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)," Gilbert said. "We're not getting them all.
"I would be a lot happier if we could get them all, but there are some prominent Mormons that I thought I could get, but I didn't."
Romney trails Giuliani and McCain in national polls but is closer in surveys in key primary states.
He will be back in Arizona for a fundraiser June 20, and his wife, Ann, will headline an event May 22. Supporters said they hope he keeps building momentum.
"When I look at the alternatives, why, I don't think there's anybody who even holds a candle to his ability and where he stands on the issues," said Fred Ash, a retired real estate developer and lawyer from Mesa.
Ash gave Romney $2,300 in February, the maximum allowed by law.additional information
Romney's team
Here are Romney's Arizona finance committee co-chairmen:
● Paul Gilbert, co-founder of Beus Gilbert law firm in Scottsdale, and Susan Gilbert
● Lee Hanley, chairman of Vestar Development Co.
● Kevin DeMenna, a Republican lobbyist and longtime GOP fundraiser
● Harry Cavanagh, head of the Cavanagh law firm in Phoenix
● Wil Cardon, president and CEO of The Cardon Group, a real estate company
Here are the honorary co-chairmen of his campaign in the state:
● Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio
● State Sen. Chuck Gray, R-Mesa, chairman of the state Senate Judiciary Committee
● State Rep. Mark Anderson, R-Mesa
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/48891.php

I can't understand why Sheriff Joe is supporting flip flop romney. You would think as tough as Sheriff Joe is on illegals, he would place more support to either Hunter's or Tancredo's campaign.