Mitt Romney's 'fearsome' $10 million one-day haul

The former Massachusetts governor's fundraising push was intended to instill fear in his competitors and establish him as the GOP frontrunner. Did it work?

Mitt Romney
(Image credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney raised more than $10 million on Monday, hoping to scare his 2012 rivals and show primary voters that he alone can raise enough money to compete with President Obama. The former Massachusetts governor hopes to pile up $40 million in a fundraising push in May and June, which would almost certainly give him a huge financial lead over the rest of the GOP field when the quarter ends June 30. Will Romney's financial muscle-flexing cement his status as the frontrunner for the Republican nomination?

Romney's fundraising is a formidable advantage: Romney and his campaign were "confident, or even a little cocky," after his big Las Vegas call-a-thon fundraising effort on Monday, says Jonathan Martin at Politico, and with good reason. He showed off "a fearsome fundraising machine that is almost certain to be unmatched by any other GOP hopeful." And don't forget the former venture capitalist has his own fortune to tap — he plowed $42 million of his own money into his 2008 campaign. Money matters, and Romney is going to "dwarf the competition financially."

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