(Politico).While he remains publicly coy about the possibility of another White House bid, Mitt Romney’s calendar tells a very different story.
From returning to a key early primary state to delivering an address before a social conservative conference and reuniting with members of his campaign-in-waiting, Romney is scheduled to spend a good deal of his September in a fashion befitting a man very much interested in running for president.
Romney has been careful to avoid being overexposed this year, instead picking his spots to weigh in with an op-ed or talk show appearance when the national debate turns to health care, the auto industry or some other issue on which he’s well-versed.
But despite the relatively low media exposure, Romney has not ignored the importance of building and keeping his political contacts, especially in Washington.
To this end, the former Massachusetts governor will spend much of the middle of this month in and around the capital for a series of events aimed at retaining or building support with a number of valuable constituencies in a Republican primary.
On Saturday, Sept. 19, Romney will speak at the Values Voters Summit, an annual conference in the capital put on by the Family Research Council that frequently draws GOP presidential hopefuls.
First, on Thursday night, Romney is holding a $1,000-per-person fundraiser at a trendy Washington restaurant. Co-hosts include a number of Romney stalwarts such as former campaign counsel Ben Ginsberg and high-powered lobbyists Ron Kaufman, Drew Maloney, Al Cardenas and Jack Gerard.
On Friday, Romney heads across the Potomac to Alexandria for a breakfast fundraiser benefitting the re-election campaign of Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, an early supporter and state chair of the former governor’s 2008 bid.
The day after the Values Voters event, Romney is keynoting a $500-per-person afternoon reception at the Great Falls, Va., home of former solicitor general Ted Olson for Barbara Comstock, a Romney adviser now running for state delegate.
On that Monday, Romney will deliver a foreign policy address at a Washington conference put on by the hawkish Foreign Policy Initiative.At night, he will raise money for Bob McDonnell, the GOP’s gubernatorial candidate in Virginia, at an evening reception in Washington.
But Romney’s not just tending to old relationships and building new ones inside the Beltway.
On Sept. 22, he’ll head to Atlanta – a major Republican fundraising hub – to raise money for Georgia’s House Republican caucus.
And that weekend, the son of a former Michigan governor will return to his childhood state to keynote the annual Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference, a heavily attended activist event on a picturesque island near the Upper Peninsula. In 2007, Romney used the same conference to offer a critical assessment of his own party and won the straw poll. He later carried the state during the GOP primary.
Asked about the flurry of political activity by Romney – who is also writing a future-oriented book entitled “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness” – spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom suggested the fast-pace wouldn’t be just limited to September.
“Summer's over,” Fehrnstrom said. “With 2010 right around the corner, there's a lot of work to do, which means more travel, more fundraising and more campaigning.”
From returning to a key early primary state to delivering an address before a social conservative conference and reuniting with members of his campaign-in-waiting, Romney is scheduled to spend a good deal of his September in a fashion befitting a man very much interested in running for president.
Romney has been careful to avoid being overexposed this year, instead picking his spots to weigh in with an op-ed or talk show appearance when the national debate turns to health care, the auto industry or some other issue on which he’s well-versed.
But despite the relatively low media exposure, Romney has not ignored the importance of building and keeping his political contacts, especially in Washington.
To this end, the former Massachusetts governor will spend much of the middle of this month in and around the capital for a series of events aimed at retaining or building support with a number of valuable constituencies in a Republican primary.
On Saturday, Sept. 19, Romney will speak at the Values Voters Summit, an annual conference in the capital put on by the Family Research Council that frequently draws GOP presidential hopefuls.
First, on Thursday night, Romney is holding a $1,000-per-person fundraiser at a trendy Washington restaurant. Co-hosts include a number of Romney stalwarts such as former campaign counsel Ben Ginsberg and high-powered lobbyists Ron Kaufman, Drew Maloney, Al Cardenas and Jack Gerard.
On Friday, Romney heads across the Potomac to Alexandria for a breakfast fundraiser benefitting the re-election campaign of Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, an early supporter and state chair of the former governor’s 2008 bid.
The day after the Values Voters event, Romney is keynoting a $500-per-person afternoon reception at the Great Falls, Va., home of former solicitor general Ted Olson for Barbara Comstock, a Romney adviser now running for state delegate.
On that Monday, Romney will deliver a foreign policy address at a Washington conference put on by the hawkish Foreign Policy Initiative.At night, he will raise money for Bob McDonnell, the GOP’s gubernatorial candidate in Virginia, at an evening reception in Washington.
But Romney’s not just tending to old relationships and building new ones inside the Beltway.
On Sept. 22, he’ll head to Atlanta – a major Republican fundraising hub – to raise money for Georgia’s House Republican caucus.
And that weekend, the son of a former Michigan governor will return to his childhood state to keynote the annual Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference, a heavily attended activist event on a picturesque island near the Upper Peninsula. In 2007, Romney used the same conference to offer a critical assessment of his own party and won the straw poll. He later carried the state during the GOP primary.
Asked about the flurry of political activity by Romney – who is also writing a future-oriented book entitled “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness” – spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom suggested the fast-pace wouldn’t be just limited to September.
“Summer's over,” Fehrnstrom said. “With 2010 right around the corner, there's a lot of work to do, which means more travel, more fundraising and more campaigning.”
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