DES MOINES, Iowa — Mitt Romney may be ramping up his campaign efforts in Iowa, a state where the former Massachusetts governor had planned to spend minimal resources, if Texas Gov. Rick Perry jumps in the Republican presidential race, according to officials with knowledge of Romney’s campaign strategy.
“If Perry runs an economically focused campaign, that is a huge threat to Romney,” said Doug Gross, the chairman of Romney’s 2008 Iowa campaign who stays in touch with the candidate’s current Iowa operation. “He can’t afford to let Perry catch fire here [in Iowa] at all.”
Perry, who is aggressively flirting with a presidential run, has a strong economic record as governor of Texas and a clear advantage over Romney with religious conservatives.
Without Perry in the picture, Romney had hoped to spend a minimal amount of time and money in Iowa, where his operatives have been primarily focused on retaining supporters from his 2008 campaign, rather than recruiting new voters.
Under that scenario, aides hoped that Tea Party darling Michele Bachmann would win the Iowa caucus — better yet, she would win by a large enough margin over former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty to knock him out of the race.
The Romney campaign clearly does not feel threatened by Bachmann, partly because she appeals to a different voter base than the one he is targeting.
But Perry could appeal to voters in both candidates’ camps. “It is an open question as to how much more aggressive the campaign gets in Iowa,” said David Kochel, Romney’s chief Iowa strategist.
Romney won’t have to rethink his competitive strategy in Iowa if Perry launches a faith-based campaign, officials said. But if Perry steps on Romney’s economic turf, Romney may be heading to Iowa sooner than he expected.
If Perry doesn’t enter the race, Romney will have enough residual support in Iowa from his 2008 campaign to catapult him into a top slot at the February caucuses, as long as he steadily ramps up his campaign appearances until then, according to an Iowa Republican Party official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he hasn’t yet endorsed a candidate.
For now, the Romney camp is tamping down expectations in Iowa.
“I don’t know that we have to get second place — I don’t even know that we have to get third place,” Kochel said.
Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses have in the past provided momentum to lagging candidates — including Obama in 2008 — heading into the early primary states of New Hampshire and South Carolina.
But thanks to Romney’s 2008 Iowa campaign, he doesn’t necessarily need the name recognition that a strong finish in Iowa would provide this time around, said Tim Albrecht, Romney’s Iowa spokesman in 2008.
Still, some of Romney’s Iowa supporters are starting to feel unappreciated by the candidate.
“A lot of [Romney] supporters here are sitting on the sidelines … waiting to see whether or not he’s deciding to compete here,” Gross said. “It’s hard to get fired up about a guy who’s not playing in your ball park.”
