Republican Mitt Romney, who on Wednesday will make his first public appearance in Virginia as a presidential hopeful, already has a much larger campaign organization in place in the Old Dominion than any of the other GOP White House contenders.
Only President Obama has committed more campaign resources to Virginia than Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who is making a two-day swing through Northern Virginia. It’s evidence that while Virginia is likely to play only a minor role in the Republican presidential nominating process, it will be a must-win battleground in the 2012 general election for Obama, who in 2008 became the first Democratic presidential contender to carry Virginia in nearly 50 years.
Romney’s commitment to the state indicates he’s already looking past the primary contests and considering how to defeat Obama.
“Romney anticipates being the nominee, and he sees Obama investing a lot in Virginia, so it makes sense,” said Stephen Farnsworth, an expert on Virginia politics at George Mason University. “He’s also looking at Obama’s campaign strategy in 2008 and thinking he needs to be as prepared as Obama was for a lengthy nomination.”
As the Democratic frontrunner in 2008, then-Sen. Hillary Clinton was not ready for a drawn out race, and it doomed her campaign. Romney is preparing for a clash with Obama while maintaining a level of caution heading into the Republican nominating process. That’s particularly important for Romney, who, though a leader of the pack, still suffers in polls because conservatives are unenthusiastic about him, Farnsworth said.
At Romney’s disposal is the organization of his Virginia campaign chairman, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a network of several hundred activists with two successful statewide races under its belt and the pieces in place for a run at the governor’s mansion in 2013.
That significantly outpaces Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and businessman Herman Cain, who all made appearances in Virginia but haven’t set up significant operations in the state, or, in Bachmann’s case, pulled them out in favor of aiding the Iowa team.
“In our perfect world, Romney is the nominee well before we get to Virginia, but you’ve got to be ready to compete,” Bolling said. “If the race is ongoing we will clearly have an upper hand.”
Romney held a private fundraiser Tuesday night in McLean and has another scheduled for Wednesday morning in Washington before his public visit with state Republicans, including Bolling and Gov. Bob McDonnell, at the Fairfax County Republican Committee headquarters. From there, Romney will speak privately with legislative leaders and GOP candidates about the 2011 and 2012 campaigns at the Mason Inn Conference Center and Hotel and finish his trip at a meeting with Virginia business leaders in D.C.
