Democrat Deval Patrick's 20-point

Democrat Deval Patrick's 20-point win over Republican Kerry Healey, Romney's Lieutenant Governor, in the 2006 Massachusetts gubernatorial election.^[223][225]

Romney filed to register a presidential campaign committee with the Federal Election Commission on his penultimate day in office as governor.^[226] His term ended January 4, 2007. Sony VAIO VGN-SR93YS Battery

Romney formally announced his candidacy for the 2008 Republican nomination for president on February 13, 2007, in Dearborn, Michigan.^[227] Again casting himself as a political outsider,^[228] his speech frequently invoked his father and his family, and stressed experiences in the private, public, and voluntary sectors that had brought him to this point. Sony VAIO VGN-SR94FS Battery

The campaign emphasized Romney's highly profitable career in the business world and his stewardship of the Olympics.He also had political experience as a governor, together with a political pedigree courtesy of his father (as well as many biographical parallels with him). Ann Romney, who had become an advocate for those with multiple sclerosis, Sony VAIO VGN-SR94GS Battery

was in remission and would be an active participant in his campaign,^[237] helping to soften his political personality.Media stories referred to the 6-foot-2-inch (1.88 m) Romney as handsome.Moreover, a number of commentators noted that with his square jaw and ample hair graying at the temples, he physically matched one of the common images of what a president should look like. Sony VAIO VGN-SR94HS Battery

Romney's liabilities included having run for senator and serving as governor in one of the nation's most liberal states and having taken positions in opposition to the party's conservative base during that time.Late during his term as governor, he had shifted positions and emphases to better align with traditional conservatives on social issues.Sony VAIO VGN-SR94VS Battery

Skeptics, including some Republicans, charged Romney with opportunism and a lack of core principles.As a Mormon, he faced suspicion and skepticism by some in the Evangelical portion of the party.

For his campaign, Romney assembled a veteran group of Republican staffers, consultants, and pollsters.^[ Sony VAIO VPC CW2MFX/PU Battery

He was little-known nationally, though, and stayed around the 10 percent support range in Republican preference polls for the first half of 2007.^[219] He proved the most effective fundraiser of any of the Republican candidates and also partly financed his campaign with his own personal fortune. Sony VAIO VPC S11V9E/B Battery

These resources, combined with the mid-year near-collapse of nominal front-runner John McCain's campaign, made Romney a threat to win the nomination and the focus of the other candidates' attacks.^[246] Romney's staff suffered from internal strife; the candidate himself was at times indecisive, often asking for more data before making a decision. Sony VAIO VPCB119GJ/B Battery

During all of his political campaigns, Romney has avoided speaking publicly about Mormon doctrines, referring to the U.S. Constitution's prohibition of religious tests for public office.But persistent questions about the role of religion in Romney's life, as well as Southern Baptist minister and former Governor of Arkansas Sony VAIO VPCB11AGJ Battery

Mike Huckabee's rise in the polls based upon an explicitly Christian-themed campaign, led to the December 6, 2007, "Faith in America" speech.^[249] In the speech Romney declared, "I believe in my Mormon faith and endeavor to live by it. My faith is the faith of my fathers. I will be true to them and to my beliefs."^[11] Sony VAIO VPCB11AVJ Battery

Romney added that he should neither be elected nor rejected based upon his religion,^[250] and echoed Senator John F. Kennedy's famous speech during his 1960 presidential campaign in saying, "I will put no doctrine of any church above the plain duties of the office and the sovereign authority of the law."Sony VAIO VPCB11V9E Battery

Instead of discussing the specific tenets of his faith, he said he would be informed by it, stating: "Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone."Academics would later study the role religion had played in the campaign. Sony VAIO VPCB11X9E Battery

The campaign's strategy called for winning the initial two contests – the January 3, 2008, Iowa Republican caucuses and the adjacent-to-his-home-state January 8 New Hampshire primary – and propelling Romney nationally. However, he took second place in both, losing Iowa to a vastly outspent Huckabee who received more than twice the evangelical Christian votes, and losing New Hampshire to the resurgent McCain. Sony VAIO VPCCW18FJ/P Battery

Huckabee and McCain criticized Romney's image as a flip flopper^[254] and this label would stick to Romney through the campaign^[230] (one that Romney rejected as unfair and inaccurate, except for his acknowledged change of mind on abortion).^[ Romney seemed to approach the campaign as a management consulting exercise, and showed a lack of personal warmth and political feel; Sony VAIO VGN-SR140D Battery

journalist Evan Thomas wrote that Romney "came off as a phony, even when he was perfectly sincere."The fervor with which Romney adopted his new stances and attitudes contributed to the perception of inauthenticity which hampered the campaign.Romney's staff would conclude that competing as a candidate of social conservatism and ideological purity rather than of pragmatic competence had been a mistake. Sony VAIO VGN-SR140D/B Battery

A win by McCain over Huckabee in South Carolina, and by Romney over McCain in childhood-home Michigan, set up a pivotal battle in the Florida primary.Romney campaigned intensively on economic issues and the burgeoning subprime mortgage crisis, while McCain attacked Romney regarding Iraq policy and benefited from endorsements from Florida officeholders. Sony VAIO VGN-SR140D/P Battery

McCain won a 5 percentage point victory on January 29.Although many Republican officials were now lining up behind McCain,^[260] Romney persisted through the nationwide Super Tuesday contests on February 5. There he won primaries or caucuses in several states, but McCain won in more and in larger-population ones. Sony VAIO VGN-SR140D/S Battery

Trailing McCain in delegates by a more than two-to-one margin, Romney announced the end of his campaign on February 7.^[261]

Altogether, Romney had won 11 primaries and caucuses,^[262] receiving about 4.7 million votes^[263] and garnering about 280 delegates. Sony VAIO VGN-SR140E Battery

He spent $110 million during the campaign, including $45 million of his own money.^[265]

Romney endorsed McCain for president a week later,^[264] and McCain had Romney on a short list for vice presidential running mate, where his business experience would have balanced one of McCain's weaknesses. Sony VAIO VGN-SR140E/B Battery

McCain, behind in the polls, opted instead for a high-risk, high-reward "game changer", selecting Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.^[267]  McCain lost the election to Democratic Senator Barack Obama.

Romney supported the Bush administration's Troubled Asset Relief Program in response to the late-2000s financial crisis, Sony VAIO VGN-SR140E/P Battery

later saying that it prevented the U.S. financial system from collapsing.During the U.S. automotive industry crisis of 2008–10, he opposed a bailout of the industry in the form of direct government intervention, and argued that a managed bankruptcy of struggling automobile companies should instead be accompanied by federal guarantees for post-bankruptcy financing from the private sector. Sony VAIO VGN-SR140E/S Battery

Following the 2008 election, Romney laid the groundwork for a likely 2012 presidential campaign by using his Free and Strong America political action committee(PAC) to raise money for other Republican candidates and pay his existing political staff's salaries and consulting fees.A network of former staff and supporters around the nation were eager for him to run again. Sony VAIO VGN-SR140N/S Battery

He continued to give speeches and raise funds for Republicans,^[274] but fearing overexposure, turned down many potential media appearances.He also spoke before business, educational, and motivational groups. From 2009 to 2011, he served on the board of directors of Marriott International, founded by his namesake J. Willard Marriott. He had previously served on it from 1993 to 2002. Sony VAIO VGN-SR165E/B Battery

In 2009, the Romneys sold their primary residence in Belmont and their ski chalet in Utah, leaving them an estate along Lake Winnipesaukee in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, and an oceanfront home in the La Jolla district of San Diego, California, which they had purchased the year before.Sony VAIO VGN-SR165E/P Battery

The San Diego home proved beneficial in location and climate for Ann Romney's multiple sclerosis therapies and for recovering from her late 2008 diagnosis of mammary ductal carcinoma in situ and subsequent lumpectomy.Both it and the New Hampshire location were near some of their grandchildren  (who by 2012 numbered eighteen). Sony VAIO VGN-SR165E/S Battery

Romney maintained his voting registration in Massachusetts, however, and bought a smaller condominium in Belmont during 2010.^[281][284] In February 2010, Romney had a minor altercation with LMFAO member Skyler Gordy, known as Sky Blu, on an airplane flight.^{[nb 19]}

Romney released his book, No Apology: The Case for American Greatness, in March 2010, and undertook an 18-state book tour to promote the work. Sony VAIO VGN-SR190EBJ Battery

In the book, Romney writes of his belief in American exceptionalism,^[289] and presents his economic and geopolitical views rather than anecdotes about his personal or political life.^[289][290] It debuted atop The New York Times Best Seller list.^[291] Romney donated his earnings from the book to charity.^[101]Sony VAIO VGN-SR190EBQ Battery

Immediately following the March 2010 passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Romney attacked the landmark legislation as "an unconscionable abuse of power" and said the act should be repealed.^[292] The antipathy Republicans felt for it created a potential problem for the former governor, Sony VAIO VGN-SR190EEJ/C Battery

since the new federal law was in many ways similar to the Massachusetts health care reform passed during Romney's term; as one Associated Press article stated, "Obamacare ... looks a lot like Romneycare." While acknowledging that his plan was an imperfect work in progress, Romney did not back away from it. Sony VAIO VGN-SR190NAB Battery

He defended the state-level health insurance mandate that underpinned it, calling the bill the right answer to Massachusetts' problems at the time.

In nationwide opinion polling for the 2012 Republican Presidential primaries, Romney led or placed in the top three with Palin and Huckabee. Sony VAIO VGN-SR190NBB Battery

A January 2010National Journal survey of political insiders found that a majority of Republican insiders and a plurality of Democratic insiders predicted Romney would be the party's 2012 nominee.Romney campaigned heavily for Republican candidates in the 2010 midterm elections,raising more money than the other prospective 2012 Republican presidential candidates. Sony VAIO VGN-SR190NDB Battery

Beginning in early 2011, Romney presented a more relaxed visual image, including more casual attire.

On April 11, 2011, Romney announced, via a video taped outdoors at the University of New Hampshire, that he had formed anexploratory committee for a run for the Republican presidential nomination. Sony VAIO VGN-SR190NEB Battery

Quinnipiac University political science professor Scott McLean stated, "We all knew that he was going to run. He's really been running for president ever since the day after the 2008 election."

Romney stood to benefit from the Republican electorate's tendency to nominate candidates who had previously run for president, and thus appeared to be next in line to be chosen. Sony VAIO VGN-SR190NGB Battery

The early stages of the race found him as the apparent front-runner in a weak field, especially in terms of fundraising prowess and organization.Perhaps his greatest hurdle in gaining the Republican nomination was party opposition to the Massachusetts health care reform law that he had shepherded five years earlier. Sony VAIO VGN-SR190PAB Battery

As many potential Republican candidates with star power and fundraising ability decided not to run (including Mike Pence, John Thune, Haley Barbour, Mike Huckabee, and Mitch Daniels), Republican party figures searched for plausible alternatives to Romney.

On June 2, 2011, Romney formally announced the start of his campaign. Sony VAIO VGN-SR190PCB Battery

Speaking on a farm in Stratham, New Hampshire, he focused on the economy and criticized President Obama's handling of it.^[306] He said, "In the campaign to come, the American ideals of economic freedom and opportunity need a clear and unapologetic defense, and I intend to make it – because I have lived it." Sony VAIO VGN-SR190PFB Battery

Romney raised $56 million during 2011, more than double the amount raised by any of his Republican opponents,^[307] and refrained from spending his own money on the campaign.^[308] He initially pursued a low-key, low-profile strategy.^[309]Michele Bachmann staged a brief surge in polls, which preceded a poll surge in September 2011 by Rick Perry who had entered the race the month before. Sony VAIO VGN-SR19VN Battery

Perry and Romney exchanged sharp criticisms of each other during a series of debates among the Republican candidates.The October 2011 decisions of Chris Christie and Sarah Palin not to run effectively settled the field of candidates.Perry faded after poor performances in those debates, while Herman Cain's 'long-shot' bid gained popularity until allegations of sexual misconduct derailed it.Sony VAIO VGN-SR19VN Battery

Romney continued to seek support from a wary Republican electorate; at this point in the race, his poll numbers were relatively flat and at a historically low level for a Republican frontrunner.After the charges of flip-flopping that marked his 2008 campaign began to accumulate again, Romney declared in November 2011: "I've been as consistent as human beings can be." Sony VAIO VGN-SR19VRN Battery

n the final month before voting began, Newt Gingrich experienced a significant surge – taking a solid lead in national polls and most of the early caucus and primary states^[321] – before settling back into parity or worse with Romney following a barrage of negative ads from Restore Our Future, a pro-Romney Super PAC. Sony VAIO VGN-SR19XN Battery

In the initial contest, the 2012 Iowa caucuses of January 3, election officials announced Romney as ahead with 25 percent of the vote, edging out a late-gainingRick Santorum by eight votes (an also-strong Ron Paul finished third).Sixteen days later, however, they certified Santorum as the winner by a 34-vote margin. Sony VAIO VGN-SR19XN Battery

A week after the Iowa caucuses, Romney earned a decisive win in the New Hampshire primary with a total of 39 percent of the vote; Paul finished second and Jon Huntsman third.

In the run-up to the South Carolina Republican primary, Gingrich launched ads criticizing Romney for causing job losses while at Bain Capital, Perry referred to Romney's role there as "vulture capitalism", Sony VAIO VGN-SR210J/S Battery

and Sarah Palin pressed Romney to prove his claim that he created 100,000 jobs during that time. Many conservatives rallied in defense of Romney, rejecting what they inferred as criticism of free-market capitalism. During two debates in the state, Romney fumbled questions about releasing his income tax returns, Sony VAIO VGN-SR21M/S Battery

while Gingrich gained support with audience-rousing attacks on the debate moderators.Romney's double-digit lead in state polls evaporated; he lost to Gingrich by 13 points in the January 21 primary.Combined with the delayed loss in Iowa, Romney's admitted poor week represented a lost chance to end the race early, and he quickly decided to release two years of his tax returns. Sony VAIO VGN-SR21RM/H Battery

The race turned to the Florida Republican primary, where in debates, appearances, and advertisements, Romney launched a sustained barrage against Gingrich's past record and associations and current electability. Romney enjoyed a large spending advantage from both his campaign and his aligned Super PAC, and after a record-breaking rate of negative ads from both sides, Sony VAIO VGN-SR21RM/S Battery

Romney won Florida on January 31, gaining 46 percent of the vote to Gingrich's 32 percent.

Several caucuses and primaries took place during February, and Santorum won three in a single night early in the month, propelling him into the lead in national and some state polls and positioning him as Romney's chief rival. Sony VAIO VGN-SR220J/B Battery

Days later, Romney told the Conservative Political Action Conference that he had been a "severely conservative governor" (while during his term in 2005 he had maintained that his positions were moderate and characterized reports that he was shifting to the right to attract conservative votes a media distortion). Sony VAIO VGN-SR220J/H Battery

Romney won the other five February contests, including a closely fought one in his home state of Michigan at the end of the month.In the Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses of March 6, Romney won six of ten contests, including a narrow victory in Ohio over a vastly outspent Santorum. Although his victories were not enough to end the race, Sony VAIO VGN-SR240J/B Battery

they were enough to establish a two-to-one delegate lead over Santorum.^[339] Romney maintained his delegate margin through subsequent contests,^[340] and Santorum suspended his campaign on April 10.^[341]  Following a sweep of five more contests on April 24, the Republican National Committee put its resources to work for Romney as the party's presumptive nominee. Sony VAIO VGN-SR240N/B Battery

Romney clinched a majority of the delegates with a win in the Texas primary on May 29.

Polls have consistently indicated a tight race for the November general election.^[343]  Negative ads from both sides dominated the campaign, with Obama's proclaiming that Romney shipped jobs overseas while at Bain Capital and kept money in offshore tax havens and Swiss bank accounts. Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JTH Battery

A related issue dealt with Romney's purported responsibility for actions at Bain Capital after taking the Olympics post.^[95][97]  Romney faced demands from Democrats to release additional years of his tax returns, an action a number of Republicans also felt would be wise; after being adamant that he would not do that, he released summaries of them in late September. Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JTJ Battery

In July 2012, Romney visited the United Kingdom, Israel, and Poland, meeting leaders in an effort to raise his credibility as a world statesman.^[346] Comments Romney made about the readiness of the 2012 Summer Olympics were perceived as undiplomatic by the British press.Israeli Prime Minister (and former BCG colleague) Benjamin Netanyahu, Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JTQ Battery

embraced Romney, though some Palestinians criticized him for suggesting that Israel's culture led to their greater economic success.^[

On August 11, 2012, the Romney campaign announced the selection of Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as his vice-presidential running mate. Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JVB/C Battery

On August 28, 2012, the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, officially nominated Romney as their candidate for the presidency.^[351] Romney is the first Mormon to become a major-party presidential nominee.^[352]

In mid-September, a video surfaced of Romney speaking before a group of supporters in which he stated that 47 percent of the nation pays no income tax, Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JVH/C Battery

are dependent on the federal government, see themselves as victims, and will support President Obama unconditionally. Romney went on to say: "And so my job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."^[After facing criticism about the tone and accuracy of these comments, Sony VAIO VGN-SR290NTB Battery

he at first characterized them as "inelegantly stated", then a couple of weeks later commented: "I said something that's just completely wrong."

The first of three 2012 presidential election debates took place on October 3, in Denver. Media figures and political analysts widely viewed Romney as having delivered a stronger and more focused presentation than did President Obama. Sony VAIO VGN-SR29VN/S Battery

In addition to calling for cuts in federal government spending to help reduce the national debt, Romney has proposed gradually raising the eligibility ages for receipt of Social Security, Medicare, and other entitlement program benefits.He favors substantial increases in military spending and promises to invest more heavily in military weapons programs while increasing the number of active-duty military personnel.Sony VAIO VGN-NS240E/L Battery

He was very supportive of the directions taken by the budget proposals of Paul Ryan, although he later proposed his own budget plan which, for example, lowers tax rates within existing brackets instead of adopting Ryan's idea of collapsing six income tax brackets into two.

Romney pledges to lead an effort to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")Sony VAIO VGN-NS290J/L Battery

and replace it with a system that gives states more control over Medicaid and makes health insurance premiums tax-advantaged for individuals in the same way they are for businesses.^[364] He favors repeal of theDodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the Sarbanes–Oxley Act and intends to replace them with what he calls a "streamlined, modern regulatory framework".Sony VAIO VGN-NS290J/S Battery

He has also promised to seek income tax law changes that he says would help to lower federal deficits and would stimulate economic growth. These include: reducing individual income tax rates across the board by 20 percent, maintaining the Bush administration-era tax rate of 15 percent on investment income fromdividends and capital gains Sony VAIO VGN-NS50B/L Battery

(and eliminating this tax entirely for those with annual incomes less than $200,000), cutting the top tax rate on corporations from 35 to 25 percent, and eliminating the estate tax and the Alternative Minimum Tax.  He has promised that the loss of government revenue from these tax cuts would be Sony VAIO VGN-NS50B/W Battery

offset by closing loopholes and placing limits on tax deductions and credits available to taxpayers with the highest incomes,but has said that that aspect of the plan cannot be evaluated yet because details are lacking.

Romney opposes the use of mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions to deal with global warming.^[ Sony VAIO VGN-NS51B/L Battery

He has stated that he believes climate change is occurring, but that he does not know how much of it can be linked to human activity. He is a proponent of increased domestic oil drilling, hydraulic fracturing ("fracking"), building more nuclear power plants, and reducing the regulatory authority of the Environmental Protection Agency.Sony VAIO VGN-NS51B/P Battery

He believesNorth American energy independence can be achieved by 2020.

Romney labels Russia as America's "number one geopolitical foe",and asserts that preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear capability should be America's "highest national security priority".He plans to formally label China a currency manipulator and take associated counteractions unless that country changes its trade practices. Sony VAIO VGN-NS51B/W Battery

Romney supports the Patriot Act, continued operation of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, and use of enhanced interrogation techniques against suspected terrorists.Romney opposes same-sex marriage and civil unions, although he favors domestic partnership legislation that gives certain legal rights to same-sex couples, such as hospital visitationSony VAIO VGN-NS52JB/L Battery

In 2011, he signed a pledge promising to seek passage of an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

Since 2005, Romney has described himself as "pro-life", writing: "I believe that abortion is the wrong choice except in cases of incest, rape, and to save the life of the mother." Sony VAIO VGN-NS52JB/P Battery

During his 1994 campaign for the senate, Romney had said, "I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country," a stance he reiterated during his 2002 campaign for governor.Campaigning for the presidency in 2011, he said he would support pro-life legislation should it come before him as president,Sony VAIO VGN-NS52JB/W Battery

such as a Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.In October 2012, he said that as president, "There's no legislation with regards to abortion that I'm familiar with that would become part of my agenda."The following day, his campaign spokeswoman said that "Gov. Sony VAIO VGN-NS70B/W Battery

Romney would of course support legislation aimed at providing greater protections for life."While Romney would prefer to see passage of a constitutional amendment that would outlaw abortion, he does not believe the public would support such an amendment;as an alternative, he has promised to nominate Supreme Court justices who would help overturn Sony VAIO VGN-NS71B/W Battery

Roe v. Wade, allowing each state to decide on the legality of abortion.

Romney has said that he would appoint federal judges in the mold of U.S. Supreme Court justices John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, and Samuel Alito. He has advocated judicial restraint and strict constructionism as judicial philosophies. Sony VAIO VGN-NS72JB/W Battery

Romney has received five honorary doctorates: in business from the University of Utah in 1999, in law from Bentley College in 2002, in public administration from Suffolk University Law School in 2004, in public service fromHillsdale College in 2007, and in humanities from Liberty University in 2012. Sony VAIO VGN-NS90HS Battery

People magazine included Romney in its 50 Most Beautiful People list for 2002, and in 2004, a foundation that promotes the Olympic Truce gave him its inaugural Truce Ideal Award.The Cranbrook School gave him their Distinguished Alumni Award in 2005.In 2008, he shared with his wife Ann, Sony VAIO VGN-NS92JS Battery

the Canterbury Medal from The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, for "refus[ing] to compromise their principles and faith" during the presidential campaign.In 2012, Time included Romney in their list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Sony VAIO VGN-NS92XS Battery,Sony VAIO VGN-NW21EF/S Battery,Sony VAIO VGN-NW21JF Battery