MITT ROMNEY, the former governor of Massachusetts, has made official his long-expected bid for the Republican presidential nomination, putting the economy and job creation at the core of his campaign.
Mr Romney (64), who lost the 2008 nomination to John McCain, is considered the front-runner to win the Republican ticket for 2012, in a field that contains former House speaker Newt Gingrich and could soon also include conservative darling Sarah Palin.
However he will be hamstrung by the healthcare reforms he introduced while governor of Massachusetts, a package known as “Romneycare” that some say is even more liberal than the nationwide changes brought in by US president Barack Obama.
Mr Romney attacked Mr Obama’s economic record yesterday, saying he had presided over growth in government that took the US “inches away from ceasing to be a free-market economy”.
“I will cap federal spending at 20 per cent or less of the GDP and finally, finally balance the budget,” he said at a farm in New Hampshire, one of the first primary states. “My generation will pass the torch to the next generation, not a bill. From my first day in office, my number one job will be to see that America once again is number one in job creation.”
Most polls put Mr Romney in the lead for the Republican nomination, if not by much. A new Public Policy Polling (PPP) survey gave him 21 per cent of support among Republicans in Iowa, which, as the first state to hold a primary vote, sets the tone for the races to follow.
Ms Palin, the former Alaska governor and Mr McCain’s running mate in 2008, was tied for second place with Herman Cain, another Tea Party favourite, with 15 per cent. Ms Palin’s score has almost doubled from two weeks ago, since she started her “One Nation” tour that is expected to take her to New Hampshire in the next few days. However she has refused to say whether she will run for the Republican nomination.
The PPP poll put Mr Gingrich in fourth place with 12 per cent and gave former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty 10 per cent.
Last week’s nationwide poll from Gallup also put Mr Romney in the lead, with 17 per cent ahead of Ms Palin’s 15 per cent.
Mr Romney had been laying the groundwork for yesterday’s official announcement with visits to Iowa and another early primary state, South Carolina.
A graduate of Harvard’s law and business schools, Mr Romney co-founded Bain Capital, the private equity firm, before going into politics.
A Mormon and a multi-millionaire, he is often criticised for a lack of popular appeal, something he has been at pains to reverse during his pre-campaign tour. This week he told an NBC interviewer he watched American Idol and read his granddaughter’s Twilight vampire books.– (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2011)