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The Mitt Romney presidential campaign of 2008 began on January 3, 2007, two days before Mitt Romney left office as governor of Massachusetts, when he filed to form an exploratory committee with the Federal Election Commission to run for President of the United States as a Republican in the 2008 election.〔 Subsequently, on February 13, 2007, he formally announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president in 2008.〔Crowley, Candy ("Romney kicks off White House bid" ) ''CNN'', February 13, 2007; retrieved March 29, 2007〕 He did so at the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan as an emblem of American ingenuity.〔 Romney was considered a top-tier candidate in his bid for the Republican nomination, despite hurdles such as low name recognition and questions about his Mormon faith. Romney partly financed his campaign with his own personal fortune, having contributed over $35 million of the $90 million raised by his campaign. Despite that, he also raised more money than any other Republican primary candidate. In a nationwide poll conducted on January 2, 2008, Romney placed first among Republican voters nationally.〔(Rasmussen Reports: Daily Presidential Tracking Polling History ) Archived Sep. 3, 2012.〕 However, he came in second in the Iowa caucuses to Mike Huckabee. Romney followed up with his first win of the campaign season in the Wyoming caucus, although it received little media attention. He then lost the New Hampshire primary to John McCain, but won the Nevada caucuses with 51 percent of the vote, with Ron Paul in second place and John McCain third, and won the Michigan primary by 9 percentage points, leaving the nomination result up in the air. He then finished fourth in the South Carolina primary and finished second to McCain in the hotly contested Florida primary, a result which gave McCain the lead in delegates and the status of "frontrunner" heading in to Super Tuesday.〔(Electability seen as key to McCain's rising support ) Reuters, Feb. 1, 2008〕 On February 7, 2008, two days after McCain posted strong gains in the Super Tuesday primaries, Romney announced the end of his campaign. A week later he endorsed McCain. ==Before the announcement== Romney spent a considerable amount of time giving political speeches in key primary battleground states. Romney traveled the country during the 2006 election cycle to campaign for gubernatorial candidates as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, spending over 200 days outside Massachusetts.〔Mooney, Brian C. ("Romney left Mass. on 212 days in '06" ) ''Boston Globe'', December 24, 2006〕 While he did not run for reelection as governor, in 2004 Romney set up a federal political action committee (PAC) called the Commonwealth PAC,〔(Commonwealth Political Action Committee )〕 which raised USD$2.71 million during the 2006 election cycle.〔(Commonwealth PAC Report, 2006 PAC Summary Data ) ''Opensecrets.com,'' Center for Responsive Politics. Retrieved February 5, 2007.〕〔(Commonwealth PAC Report, 2004 PAC Summary Data ) ''Opensecrets.com.'' Center for Responsive Politics. Retrieved February 5, 2007.〕 While testing the waters for his campaign in 2005 and 2006, then Governor Romney was accompanied by Massachusetts state troopers on his cross-country trips. The cost of the Governor's security detail for out-of-state trips increased from $63,874 in fiscal year 2005 to a cost of $103,365 in the first 11 months of fiscal year 2006. Romney's use of state troopers for security during his campaign trips was criticized by former Governor Michael Dukakis, who never traveled with state troopers during his 1988 presidential run, and Mary Boyle of Common Cause who complained that "()he people of Massachusetts are essentially funding his presidential campaign, whether they like it or not." A Romney spokesman noted that Romney did not accept a salary while he was Governor and that he paid for his personal and political travel, while the superintendent of the State Police pointed out that the Governor never requested the security and that the security detail followed the Governor on all trips in the post 9/11 world.〔 On January 3, 2007, his next-to-last day in office as governor of Massachusetts, Romney filed to form a presidential exploratory committee with the Federal Election Commission.〔(Romney Takes Step Toward an ’08 Run ) ''New York Times,'' January 4, 2007. Retrieved January 4, 2007.〕 Via the campaign committee press release announcing the establishment of the exploratory committee, Romney made it clear that it is a mere formality to announce a run for president, and that an announcement merely entails changing the name of the existing reporting entity, from "Romney for President Exploratory Committee, Inc." to "Romney for President Committee, Inc." and that money raised by the exploratory committee is the same account and entity as the money raised after any announcement, and of no consequence to the Federal Elections Commission.〔(Governor Mitt Romney Forms Presidential Exploratory Committee ) Press Release. Wednesday, Jan 03, 2007. Retrieved January 30, 2007. Archived January 6, 2007.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mitt Romney presidential campaign, 2008」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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