Romney pivots to new stage in campaign
On the heels of a commanding victory in the Illinois primary, and in light of a steadily expanding lead in the delegate count, Mitt Romney is shifting the thrust of his campaign. He intends to spend less time on the stump answering his Republican rivals and more time raising money and otherwise preparing in earnest for a general election battle against President Obama -- one that could make the turbulent GOP primary fight appear tame in comparison.
While Romney has on previous occasions appeared close to wrapping up his party's nomination, only to see Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, by turns, re-emerge as credible challengers, there is now a collective sense among the former Massachusetts governor's staff that this time is different.
According to a source with knowledge of the meeting, a team of top Romney advisers convened in Boston this week to set in motion a long-planned delegate management procedure designed to ensure that the delegates the front-runner has earned thus far stay in his column.
The high-level meeting's participants included former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, longtime Romney confidant Bob White, senior adviser Ron Kaufman, general counsel Katie Biber, political director Rich Beeson and deputy political director Todd Cranney.
During the day-long discussions, Biber mapped out the legal intricacies of each state's delegate selection process, and the campaign's political advisers outlined strategies to possibly poach delegates from other GOP candidates, according to the source.
While Romney left it to his brain trust to position him for a clinching blow, the candidate's unofficial travel schedule demonstrated the extent to which the campaign is moving into a new stage.
A day after earning the endorsement of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush this week, Romney trekked to Capitol Hill to court key Republican leaders, including House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint (who endorsed Romney in 2008 and praised him enthusiastically on Thursday -- though he stopped short of formally backing him again).
The flap over a comment made by senior Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom, who compared the start of a general election campaign to wiping away the image on an Etch A Sketch, was an unhelpful distraction after Tuesday's win in Illinois. But the remark's sentiment of making a fresh start after months of grinding battles with party rivals may not have been far off the mark.
After a brief campaign swing through Louisiana -- a state whose primary he is widely expected to lose to Santorum on Saturday -- Romney is set to embark on a week-long fundraising swing through California and Texas, which will include a pit-stop in Los Angeles to appear Tuesday on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno."
And with Romney likely to build his delegate lead next month, his campaign is preparing to increase the volume on its calls for the remaining GOP contenders not to hinder his chances in the fall.
"We have gotten even greater clarity about the race this week," said Romney spokesperson Andrea Saul. "Gov. Romney is well on his way to clinching the nomination while our opponents have admitted they're only in the race to be spoilers."
Though he remains far short of the 1,144 delegates needed to secure the nomination on the first ballot of the Tampa convention, Romney has taken a commanding lead of 560 delegates to 246 for Rick Santorum and 141 for Newt Gingrich, according to the latest RealClearPolitics estimate.
Romney faces generally favorable terrain on the two approaching April primary dates, when a slew of northeastern and mid-Atlantic states will hold contests, and Santorum has shown no signs of expanding his base of support enough to turn the tide.
After the Louisiana primary, Wisconsin, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., are next on the calendar, with Romney well-positioned to win all three on April 3.
The pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future has reportedly purchased over $2 million worth of advertising time in Wisconsin, and his campaign launched a positive TV ad blitz there that ignores the other candidates and focuses instead on Romney's own economic bona fides.
Romney is likely to make a brief campaign swing through the state following his week-longfundraising blitz. He holds a 46 percent to 33 percent lead over Santorum in Wisconsin, according to a Rasmussen poll released on Friday.
And even if Santorum were to overtake him there, Romney can point to his victories in Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois as proof that he can win in the heartland, and the GOP front-runner will likely have some insurance in Maryland and the nation's capital.
Internal polls show Romney with the lead in Maryland, and Santorum will not appear on the ballot in D.C.
As the calendar flips to April, the Romney campaign's newest balancing act will be appearing confident but not presumptuous, while also sounding the alarm about the monumental task of taking on a well-organized incumbent president.
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