Romney Plans Major Ad Buys in California, Other Super Tuesday States
Mitt Romney plans to buy TV ads in California and other Super Tuesday states, contradicting earlier reports that he was avoiding a costly campaign on Feb. 5, when 21 states hold Republican primaries and caucuses.
As Romney seeks to topple John McCain’s momentum coming out of his win in the Florida primary and a host of big-name endorsements, he said in Long Beach Thursday that he’s authorized a seven-figure advertising buy.
He said that even though he can’t flood the airwaves in every state, “given the number of states going at the same time, this is a time where our message to the main purveyors of information in the world is the best way for us to get our message out.”
Romney’s advisers had given him several options, ranging from spending $1 million for ads to $7 million. It was not immediately clear how much money Romney was willing to spend - or whether the multimillionaire would dip into his own bank account again. He already has poured at least $40 million into his presidential campaign.
The campaign will determine shortly which states it will target beyond California.
McCain aides said he, too, is preparing to run a high volume of commercials on national cable channels and in key states, but Romney will likely be the first GOP candidate on air in the Super Tuesday states, the broadest battleground of the primary season.
Romney’s first ad in California, though, actually passed over McCain in favor of attacking Democrat Hillary Clinton, criticizing her for lacking experience.
But as the mega-contest looms, Romney and McCain clashed sharply at the Wednesday night debate in California, trading accusations on topics ranging from taxes to their positions on the Iraq war to conservative credentials.
Romney has been trying to cast himself as more conservative than McCain. He claimed the Arizona senator was outside the mainstream Wednesday night and even accused McCain of “dirty tricks” and old-style Washington politics for repeating a charge that Romney supports a timetable for troop withdrawal in Iraq. Romney insists that is not true.
The debate Wednesday night further defined the contest as a two-man race, but McCain is already leading in the polls in several delegate-rich Feb. 5 states, including California.
Mike Huckabee is also trying to stay competitive in the race. He and Ron Paul participated in Wednesday night’s debate alongside Romney and McCain.
Romney had indicated on Wednesday that his campaign was not trying to purchase television advertising time in any of the states on the Super Tuesday calendar. Instead, his plans called for campaigning in California and other primary states, while making organizational efforts primarily for caucus states.
That still holds, though Romney now will supplement his campaigning with advertising.
His travel schedule reflects his campaign targets — if not his advertising goals.
The campaign was planning to focus on areas with heavy concentrations of Romney’s fellow Mormons: California, Arizona, and Utah, seat of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Romney, trying to become the first Mormon president, will attend the funeral of the church President Gordon B. Hinckley on Saturday in Utah.
He also planned a stop Friday in Colorado, followed by visits to Minnesota, Illinois and Missouri, key Midwestern states. In Missouri, a classic swing state, Romney enjoys the strong support of Gov. Matt Blunt.
Also on the tentative schedule were Tennessee and Georgia, Southern states where Romney has shown strength. Romney was likely to bypass delegate-rich New York and New Jersey after former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani dropped out of the race and endorsed McCain.
Romney’s home state of Massachusetts also votes Tuesday. His campaign tentatively planned to receive the Super Tuesday returns there, though a strong result was not assured.
In contrast to Romney, McCain plans to rely largely on momentum and the “free” news coverage that comes with it by holding rallies and news conferences in California and big winner-take-all delegate states, including New York and Illinois. McCain was picking up the endorsement of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday, an event sure to garner loads of publicity.
His aides say he would make a modest and targeted TV advertising push in some states.
With winner-take-all states his first priority, McCain’s tentative travel schedule calls for him to travel coast to coast for general-election style rallies in Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York.
FOX News’ Carl Cameron and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The truth is the insiders,(those who really Elect a President) must keep one of their own in office. To much coruption and to much oil. Mitt is not a insider. Huck and John are and it will be the same old thing if one of them get in. As far as the Demo ticket goes, it doesn,t matter.If Romney makes it Mr. Blomberg and Lou Dobbs will come in as Independents to draw away votes from Romney and let Oboma or Billary win.
PLEASE PLEASE GET OUT AND VOTE FOR ROMNEY. THIS IS THE REPUBLICAN PARTY’S LAST STAND TO GO WITH A TRUE CONSERVATIVE. GET THE WORD OUT TO EVERY TRUE CONSERVATIVE TO VOTE AND STOP BELEIVING THE LIBERAL MEDIAS AGENDA TO GET MCCAIN AS OUR NOMINEE. WE ARE STILL IN CONTROL UNTIL THE VERY LAST VOTE IS CAST TUESDAY.
I have seen the results of Fox Polls on various programs however I have never been able to participate because I’ve never been able to find them on your web site. Please tell me where you hide them.
Thank you
John McCain is a sore loser. That’s what made me decide against him. When he lost to Romney in Michigan, he was so nasty. I saw Romney’s two “losing” speeches for Iowa and NH and he was very gracious and congratulated the winner, then moved on to thanking people in his campaign. McCain is a liberal, an old jerk, and a sore loser. I swear, if he gets the nomination, I may vote for a democrat (unless its Hillary :()
I’ve never come out and supported a candidate before, though I’ve always voted republican. The first president I ever voted for was Ronald Reagan, his first term. I’m proud to say that Mitt has won me over and I’ve finally considered actually joining the republican party. I’ve joined his campaing.
PK, in WA state.
Huckabee is still in this race. He would of won South Carolina if Thompson would of dropped out before SC. He is the best choice for the security and economic future of our country. The pundits counted Huckabee out since Iowa, don’t listen to them.
Will the media quit stating “Romney, who is trying to become the first Mormon President”..I keep reading that and he is NOT trying to be the first Mormon President, just the President of the United States period! He is applying for the job of running our country (which I hope he will!), not as a religious leader. Enough! And go Mitt!
Mitt Romney will make us proud to be Americans and proud he is our President.
Romney is such an outstanding man, great candidate, would make a fantastic president. He’s smart as a whip, decent, analytical, highly successful, so accomplished. He could streamline our bloated government and make it work, if anyone could. He’s calm, mentally stable, fit and energetic, would represent us well around the world. He’s the BEST OF THE BUNCH BY FAR on either side of the aisle.
No thinking Republican would support McCain! He’s a snarly old f*rt with a hair-trigger temper. He’s got a long history of courting liberals, partnering with them to pass liberal legislation. He’s anti-free speech, pro-illegals, pro-tax,
McCain rarely shows up, and when he does, he votes with the Democrats most of the time. He voted only 56% of the time during the 110th Congress. The only person with a worse record was Tim Johnson who is recuperating after a brain aneurism! The American Conservative Union states that he is the most liberal Republican in the Senate after Lincoln Chafee, Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, and Arlen Specter.
McCain wants to close Gitmo and bring the terrorists to courts and prisons near YOU! He’s against waterboarding although it is allowed under the Geneva Conventions and has saved thousands of lives. It lasts about 30 seconds, does no lasting damage. Kalid Sheik Mohammed folded after 35 SECONDS, told us everything about Al Qaeda’s plans of attack, where the cells were located, named names. Imagine–a terrorist has a dirty bomb set to go off in a large city. You have him in custody. If you subject him to 30 seconds of extreme discomfort, you can save thousands of lives, preserve our national economy. McCain would say no, don’t do it, it’s torture. The people die, the economy crumbles because he has no common sense. What a dolt!
Huck supporters are equally dense. Huckabee is an amiable and witty speaker, but he is ethically-challenged and showed very bad judgment when he was governor. He had 16 ethics violations filed against him–found guilty of five, had to pay fines. He took $70,000 worth of furniture with him when they moved out of the governor’s mansion, had to bring it back. State ethics rules bar gifts over $100 except as wedding gifts, so he signed he and his wife (married 28 years) on to wedding registries all over the state to skirt the regulation. Raked in $150,000 in gifts. He strong-armed a local sheriff to let his son off when the kid hung a dog at scout camp. Taxes went up 47% during the time he was in office. He was for open borders, in-state tuition for illegals, offered Mexico office space for a consulate for $1 a year. All these things plus the fact that he’s a religious bigot turn off most voters. The majority of Americans and Christians are not as small-minded as he is, actually admire Romney for the upstanding life he’s lived.
I think Huck has made a pact with the devil (McCain) to stay in, split the conservative vote with Romney in order undermine him, and get McCain the nomination. In return, McCain rewards Huck with the VP or a cabinet slot. Huck knows he can’t win the nomination, is playing the spoiler, is probably being supported by Soros, et al.
Please, people, these are dangerous times! We need someone really superb to lead the country, and IT AIN’T McCAIN OR HUCKABEE! Romney is brilliant, decent, and capable. Let’s support our best–MITT ROMNEY–with our DONATIONS and our VOTE!
It’s comforting to see that I seem to be with the large majority of clear-thinking conservatives who post to these forums that McCain is a traitor to his own party, a shameless liar and a man who seems to have very little morals at all. Like Ann Coulter and many here I could not vote for him in the general election.
I am a disabled veteran. I don’t have much income, but what little I have to contribute is going to go to Mitt Romney.
For all the so-called “Christians” who seem to be for Huckabee mostly because they don’t want a Mormon to win the White House, I am ashamed and disappointed in you. I keep hearing things like “Mormons don’t believe in the “real” Jesus Christ - as if they alone had the inside track on whom the “real” Christ was. From Catholics to Baptists and from Mennonites to Lutherans, *every* Christian religion teaches a different theological version of the divinity and godhood of the Savior, and Mormons seem no different in that regard. I’m really getting tired of these silly, baseless religious tests that don’t even matter. A man is known by his WORKS- not by what other people say of him and his beliefs.
And speaking of works … Huckabee seems to me a little like McCain - he can talk the talk, but he doesn’t walk the walk. He is clearly staying in the race only to deny Mitt the nomination. It’s clear to most that he fashioned a narrow coalition of southern Christian conservatives in an effort to win the first few primaries (and “momentum”) that simply cannot carry him in Midwest and Western states. I consider myself a conservative Christian, and frankly, some of the things he said to curry favor in the early primaries frightened even me.
We have one shot now to save the Republican Party, and that’s to get behind Mitt Romney, even if Fox News (”We report, you decide,” — yeah, right) is clearly pulling out all the stops for McCain.