The inevitable has finally come to pass, former Massachusetts Governor has announced the formation of a Presidential Exploratory Committee to begin planning and fundraising his run for the Presidency in 2012. No surprise here since Romney has been laying the groundwork since early last year by picking up staffers and continuing to keep his high profile among early caucus/primary states.
Report from Reuters:
(Reuters) – Republican heavyweight Mitt Romney entered the 2012 race for the White House on Monday, forming an exploratory committee to raise money for a challenge to President Barack Obama.
Romney, an unsuccessful presidential contender in 2008, opens his campaign as a well-funded early front-runner to Obama, a Democrat. He scores high in opinion polls against other Republicans likely to seek their party’s nomination.
The former head of a private equity firm and a multimillionaire, Romney said Obama’s economic policies had failed because he did not understand how jobs were created in the real world.
“It is time that we put America back on a course of greatness, with a growing economy, good jobs and fiscal discipline in Washington,” Romney said in a short video filmed on Monday in New Hampshire and posted on his new website.
Romney is the second major Republican candidate to form an exploratory committee in the slow-starting 2012 race. Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty took that first formal step on March 21.
According to most polls, Romney has a clear advantage right now over other top contenders such as Huckabee, Palin and Trump.
