Mitt Romney 2012 presidential campaign

The 2012 presidential campaign of Mitt Romney officially began on June 2, 2011, when former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney announced he was running for the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States. This was his second try for the presidency after running in the 2008 Republican primaries. He started his campaign by filing papers with the Federal Election Commission and sharing a video message in April 2011.

Romney became the likely Republican nominee after winning the Texas primary on May 29, 2012. In August 2012, he chose Paul Ryan, a long-time U.S. Representative from Wisconsin's 1st congressional district, to be his running mate for vice president. Later that month, Romney officially accepted the Republican Party's nomination at the 2012 Republican National Convention held in Tampa, Florida.

Romney’s campaign ended on November 6, 2012, when he lost the election to the current president, Barack Obama. Romney received almost 61 million votes, which was about 47% of all votes cast. If he had won, Romney would have been the first president born in Michigan, the first Mormon president, and the second governor from Massachusetts to become president. Six years later, in November 2018, Romney became a U.S. Senator from Utah.

Background

After the 2008 election, Mitt Romney prepared for a possible run in the 2012 presidential campaign. He saved money to pay his team and build a strong support network. He gave speeches and helped raise funds for other Republican candidates. Romney turned down a well-paying job to study important issues from around the world and at home.

He did well in several important votes among Republican supporters in 2009, 2010, and 2011. In early 2012, Romney shared his tax information for 2010 and part of 2011, promising to share the rest later. Even with his plans, Romney wasn't sure if he should run again. In late 2010, his family voted, and most were against another campaign. Only his wife Ann and one son supported him, and at first, Romney decided not to run. Later, his wife and some friends convinced him to change his mind, believing he could help improve the economy.

Campaign formation

Exploratory committee

In April 2011, Mitt Romney announced that he had formed an exploratory committee. This was the first step towards possibly running for president as a Republican. He said it was time to help America grow its economy and create good jobs.

Formal announcement

On June 2, 2011, Romney officially announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president at an event in Stratham, New Hampshire. He promised that his main focus would be improving the U.S. economy and creating jobs.

Fundraising

In May 2011, Romney's campaign reported raising $10.25 million in one day. Later, it was found that this amount included pledges made earlier, not just money received that day. By the end of June, the campaign had raised $18.5 million, which was more than any other Republican candidate at the time. By the end of March 2012, Romney had raised $88 million, far more than his closest competitor. President Barack Obama had raised even more, with $197 million.

Romney was also supported by a group called Restore Our Future, which had raised over $43 million by February 2012.

Campaign staff and policy team

Romney's campaign included many experienced advisors. Some key staff members were:

• Matt Rhoades, Campaign Manager
• Beth Myers, Adviser
• Stuart Stevens and Russell Schriefer, Strategists

Romney also had a team of foreign policy advisors, many of whom had worked in previous Republican administrations.

Campaign for the party nomination

Mitt Romney was one of many people trying to become the Republican Party’s choice for president.

Romney won a vote at a meeting of conservative groups in February, getting 38% of the votes. He also won the first contest in Iowa, but after counting all the votes, another candidate named Rick Santorum was ahead by a little. Romney won the next contest in New Hampshire with 39.3% of the votes.

In Florida, Romney won with 46% of the votes. He also won in Nevada, getting 50% of the votes. But in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri, he lost to Rick Santorum. Later, Romney won in Michigan and Arizona. On Super Tuesday, the biggest day of voting in many states, Romney won in six states, while Santorum won in three and another candidate, Newt Gingrich, won in Georgia.

After more contests, Romney built up a big lead. Santorum stopped running on April 10, and Gingrich stopped on May 2. The Republican Party officially said Romney would be their candidate on April 25. He was finally chosen as the nominee at a big meeting of party members on August 28, setting up the race against President Barack Obama.

General election campaign

See also: Political positions of Mitt Romney

The campaign for the general election started on Labor Day, September 3, 2012.

Bain Capital

Main article: Bain Capital

Romney talked about his time at Bain Capital, saying it showed his skills in managing and leading, which he said created many jobs. Some of his opponents said that under Romney, some investments made money for investors but caused middle-class workers to lose their jobs. Romney took a break from Bain Capital in February 1999 to help manage the Salt Lake City Olympics. Even though he was not actively working there, Romney’s name stayed on official papers, and he was listed as the main leader of the company for three more years. This caused some people to say Romney was still responsible for what Bain did during that time. Romney said this was not true and that he had left in 1999.

International trip

In July 2012, Romney visited the United Kingdom, Israel, and Poland to meet leaders and raise funds. In London, he talked about security for the 2012 Olympic Games in a way that many British people did not like. In Jerusalem, he spoke with leaders about safety concerns. In Warsaw, he praised Poland for its support of the United States.

NAACP speech

Romney spoke to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) on July 11, 2012. He talked about creating jobs and was met with loud boos from some in the audience.

Vice presidential selection

Romney’s team looked at several possible choices for vice president, including Tim Pawlenty, Rob Portman, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, and Paul Ryan. On August 11, 2012, Romney announced that Paul Ryan would be his running mate.

"You didn't build that"

Main article: You didn't build that

In July 2012, Barack Obama made a speech saying that successful people did not get there alone but had help from others, like teachers and government services. Some people, including Romney, said this meant Obama did not value hard work. Others said Obama was talking about how government helps businesses grow.

Convention and post-convention bounce

Main article: 2012 Republican National Convention

The 2012 Republican National Convention took place from August 27–30. It included speeches from Ann Romney, Chris Christie, Paul Ryan, Clint Eastwood, and Mitt Romney.

Cairo and Benghazi attacks

See also: 2012 diplomatic missions attacks

On September 11, 2012, there were attacks on U.S. diplomatic places in Cairo, Egypt, and Benghazi, Libya. Romney commented on the events, which led to some criticism.

Vote mobilization problems

Romney used a new system called Project Orca to help get out the vote, but it did not work well on election day.

Media issues

First TV advertisement and questions about context

In his earlier campaign, Romney started TV ads in March 2007. But in 2012, his first ad didn’t air until November 2011. This 60-second ad, shown in New Hampshire, was criticized for using a quote from Obama out of context. It included a clip where Obama seemed to say, "If we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose." But it didn’t explain that Obama was quoting an email from an aide to his opponent, John McCain, about McCain’s campaign strategy, not Obama’s own views.

The Romney campaign defended the ad. Reports said that Romney’s team even seemed proud of the reaction, suggesting the ad was meant to be misleading to grab attention. Romney’s adviser, Eric Fehrnstrom, said they wanted to focus on Obama’s failure to create jobs and improve the economy.

Work requirement for welfare

Romney also ran an ad claiming that President Obama wanted to remove the work requirement for people receiving welfare help. Many news outlets and fact-checkers said this ad was false.

Dog incident

In 2007, a newspaper reported that in 1983, Romney carried his dog Seamus on the roof of their car during a trip. This story was used in ads by other candidates.

Etch A Sketch

One of Romney’s aides, Eric Fehrnstrom, compared changing their campaign message to using an Etch A Sketch to start over. This led to criticism from other candidates who said Romney changed his positions too easily.

Little Face Mitt and other memes

The 2012 election was known for its many online jokes and images, or "memes." One popular meme was called “Little Face Mitt,” which showed Romney’s face shrunken inside a normal-sized outline of a face, making it look like a comic-book character.

Tax returns

Because of pressure from rivals, Romney released part of his 2010 tax return in January 2012, along with an estimate for 2011. He chose not to share more returns, saying it would distract from important issues, even though many asked him to share more.

Doctored Video Controversy

A clip of Romney speaking at a private event was shown by a news anchor. The clip was edited to remove part of Romney’s story, making it seem like he thought ordering food with a touch screen was amazing, which made it seem like he didn’t understand everyday life. But the full story showed he was talking about how private businesses often work better than government.

Video of private fundraiser

In a video from a private event, Romney talked about his campaign strategy. In this video, Romney mentioned that some people would always vote for the president no matter what, and he focused his efforts on convincing others.

Candidate statements and campaign ads on GM and Chrysler auto production in China

Romney and his team made statements suggesting that Jeep production would move from the U.S. to China because of government support for auto companies. However, Jeep and GM said this was not true and that they would keep jobs in the U.S.

General election debates

See also: United States presidential election debates, 2012

Mitt Romney had his first big debate against Obama on October 3 in Denver, Colorado. The debate was about important issues inside the country. Many people thought Romney did really well in this debate, and it changed some opinions about the election.

On October 11, Romney's running mate Paul Ryan debated Vice President Joe Biden. They talked about many topics, including plans to help the economy and policies about other countries.

The second presidential debate happened on October 16. This debate was more lively, with strong opinions shared between the two sides. They talked about events in Libya, rules about moving to the country, and fair pay for women. After this debate, many people thought Obama had done better than Romney.

The last debate was on October 23 in Boca Raton, Florida, just before the election. They discussed issues both inside and outside the country. Some watchers thought Romney seemed unsure of himself during this debate.

Election day activities

Main article: ORCA (computer system)

On election day, Mitt Romney's team tried to use a special phone system called ORCA to help manage their efforts across the country. However, the system stopped working properly because it was trying to handle too much information at once. This made it hard for the team to get accurate updates about how many people were voting.

Romney Readiness Project

A plan was made for what would happen if Mitt Romney became president. This plan was called the "Romney Readiness Project." It started in April 2012, several months before the Republican National Convention in August 2012. Former governor of Utah, Mike Leavitt, was chosen to lead the planning.

The plan included making lists of possible people for important government jobs, preparing information for government workers, and getting ready to take over the White House and other important offices. The plan also had teams ready to help with the change if Romney had won the election. Although Romney did not become president, the plan showed how to get ready for a new president.

Post-campaign matters

After his campaign ended, Mitt Romney focused on helping his campaign staff members find new jobs. He worked on a system to organize the resumes of about 400 staff members whose pay would stop soon. The campaign also arranged for some staff members to receive extra pay until the end of November to help them during this time.

Explanations for the loss

After the election, Mitt Romney talked about why he lost. He said the president focused on giving special help to certain groups.

Some people thought Romney’s team didn’t use the internet and new technology well. They said Romney’s team didn’t understand how to use places like Reddit, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter to connect with people. They believed this made it hard for Romney to win.