By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff | October 16, 2007
Mitt Romney has spent nearly twice as much this year as Rudy Giuliani in the Republican presidential race, but remains locked in tight battles in Iowa and New Hampshire, and has less cash available than his rival as they enter the crucial stretch before balloting begins in January.
As a result, Romney faces the prospect of having to devote more time to raising money or reaching even further into his own fortune to keep pace, a situation he once said was "akin to a nightmare."
Romney reported last night that he had $9.2 million in his war chest at the end of last month, compared with nearly $12 million for Giuliani, who has spent $22 million less than the former Massachusetts governor.
According to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, Romney said he had spent $21.3 million during the summer and $52 million total so far.
He also poured another $8.5 million of his own money into his campaign, bringing the total amount he has loaned to his campaign to $17.4 million. Romney, the former head of Bain Capital, is worth between $190 million and $250 million.
According to Giuliani's report, the former New York mayor spent $13 million this summer, his biggest spending quarter yet. Much of Giuliani's spending went to direct mail in New Hampshire and elsewhere, including nearly $1.5 million to Olsen & Shuvalov, a Texas firm run by former staff of Karl Rove, the political mastermind behind President Bush's victories.
Fred Thompson, latest entry into the GOP nomination race, reported spending more than $5 million in the quarter, from July 1 to Sept. 30, leaving him with $7.1 million cash in hand, according to his filing with the FEC.
Senator John McCain of Arizona reported spending $5.5 million in the quarter, raising $5.7 million, and having $3.5 million on hand.
Romney's spending dwarfs the $19 million President Bush had spent at this point in 1999, when he was a Texas governor making his first run for the White House. And Romney's total is the latest sign that this presidential race will shatter all previous records for spending and fund-raising.
Romney has used his money to flood Iowa and New Hampshire with television and radio ads, a strategy that helped raise his profile against Giuliani, Thompson, and McCain, who are better known on the national stage.
The Nielsen Co. reported yesterday that Romney had aired 10,893 political ads by last Wednesday, more than any other candidate, Democrat or Republican. His nearest competitors in the ad war, Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico had bought 5,975 spots and Illinois Senator Barack Obama had aired 4,293.
Romney has focused on Iowa and New Hampshire, and to a lesser extent South Carolina, to vault into the top tier of Republican presidential contenders. Giuliani, McCain, and Thompson are running more national campaigns, seeking bigger payoffs when voters in more delegate-rich states head to the polls, particularly on Feb. 5 when more than 20 contests are scheduled.
The ads have helped push Romney ahead of a crowded GOP field in New Hampshire, which will hold the first primary, but polls indicate the race there is tightening. A CNN/WMUR poll in late September showed Giuliani had narrowed the gap over Romney to a statistically insignificant 1 percentage point - 25 percent to 24 percent - down from the comfortable 14-percentage point lead that Romney held in a CNN/WMUR poll in July.
In Iowa, the latest Des Moines Register poll released last week had Romney with 29 percent, ahead of Thompson with 18 percent, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee with 12 percent, Giuliani with 11 percent, and McCain with 7 percent.
MIT professor Stephen Ansolabehere said Romney's spending "suggests he's gambling a bit to spend a lot and make a big impact in the early primaries."
Filipe R. Campante, an assistant professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, said Romney's rivals may cut into his leads as they begin to spend more in Iowa and New Hampshire.
"Spending is quite important in mobilizing potential supporters and in raising awareness of your campaign in general," Campante said yesterday. "So as his opponents start spending, you will start seeing an impact in their polling numbers as well."
The Republican race has become more combative in recent days as candidates compete for votes of conservatives, who tend to decide the primaries. Romney caused an uproar by telling a campaign audience Friday that he alone represented the "Republican wing of the Republican Party."
His rivals quickly pointed out that Romney had taken some moderate stances as governor on issues such as abortion and gay rights. McCain scoffed at Romney's claim, saying, "When he ran for office in Massachusetts, being a Republican wasn't much of a priority for him."
Among other candidates who filed reports or announced spending totals yesterday:
Huckabee reported spending $819,000 during the period, just shy of the $1 million he raised. He had $651,300 left in his campaign coffers.
Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas said he spent $1.3 million, raised $925,000, and now has $94,653 left.
Texas congressman Ron Paul reported raising $5.3 million during the quarter, spending $2.1 million, and having $5.4 million in cash on hand.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton's campaign announced it raised $24 million for the primary during the summer, and had $35 million in cash to spend on the primaries.
Obama said he had raised $20 million in the quarter and had about $32 million left to spend in the primary.
Richardson reported spending $6.7 million during the third quarter, raising $5.4 million, and having $5.8 million on hand.
Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com. 