WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney has raised nearly $3.5 million for his political action committee in the first half of the year, a sum that dwarfs that of other possible 2012 Republican presidential candidates and establishes the former Massachusetts governor as a potent political force.
The figures, which will be reported today to the Federal Election Commission, demonstrate the robust national political operation that Romney has assembled since leaving the governor’s mansion in 2007 and point toward the likelihood that he will launch another presidential campaign.
Romney’s political action committee — called Free and Strong America PAC — raised more than twice as much as any other presumed 2012 Republican contender with a similar committee, including former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, the only one who matches Romney’s methodical preparations for a race that will begin in earnest next year.
In an effort to expand his base, Romney has redistributed about $400,000 of the money to other Republican causes and candidates, including large sums to gubernatorial nominees in politically crucial states: $42,000 to Nikki Haley in South Carolina, $20,000 to Terry Branstad in Iowa, and $10,000 to Rick Perry in Texas.
Full story: Fund-raising lifts Romney’s 2012 prospects – The Boston Globe