RICHMOND — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney swung through Virginia Thursday night to raise cash from wealthy donors, the latest sign that the presidential hopeful is preparing for a drawn-out fight for his party’s nomination as he struggles to stay atop the polls.
A day after telling The Washington Examiner editorial board he expected to outlast former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in a three- or fourth-month race, Romney spoke to top Virginia business leaders at a closed-door function in Richmond even though the state’s primary isn’t until March 6 — two months after the race kicks off in Iowa.
A campaign that some expected to end after the first few early-voting states cast ballots now appears headed for a lengthy battle, as Gingrich for the first time surged past Romney in polls. It has sparked a more aggressive campaign from Romney, who until now has focused his attention on President Obama.
“The primary process could well go on for a while,” Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling told The Examiner Thursday.
Bolling, chairman of Romney’s campaign in Virginia, attended Thursday’s fundraiser along with Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, who has yet to endorse a presidential contender.
“I’d love to see Gov. Romney wrap the thing up quickly, but I think that’s unlikely,” Bolling said. “Our assumption is that this thing will still be going on when we get to Super Tuesday.”
Romney is scheduled to travel Friday to Iowa, a state he has largely ignored during the campaign, a further indication that his campaign is shifting gears in response to Gingrich.
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Romney’s Richmond fundraiser attracted several hundred wealthy donors who paid between $1,000 and $5,000 per couple to hear the former Massachusetts governor speak. The campaign expected the event to raise about $350,000, putting Romney’s Virginia fundraising above $1 million for the quarter.
Romney pulled in $900,000 as of Sept. 30, the latest reporting period. That’s significantly more than any other Republican contender, but shy of the $1.3 million Obama raised in the state. Texas Gov. Rick Perry raised $208,000 in Virginia. Gingrich, the only candidate who calls Virginia home, took in $91,000.
Dominion Chief Executive Officer Tom Farrell and former Virginia Attorney General Richard Cullen were among those attending the fundraiser. Cullen, an influential Richmond lawyer with a high-profile clientele, backed both former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain rather than Romney in the 2008 presidential race.
The party establishment and business elite have been more eager to line up behind Romney than the average Republican voter.
“Romney is indeed well liked by a lot of Republicans here,” said Cortland Putbrese, chairman for the Republican Party of Richmond, “but at the grass-roots level there are a lot of folks that like other candidates as well.”
