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

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."

"Mitt Romney’s money machine cranks up"

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Money isn't everything: This dialing-for-dollars haul is a nice way for Romney to change the subject, says Carmen Cox at ABC Radio. Before this, everyone was talking about how his health care reform record in Massachusetts was hurting him with the GOP base. Now we've moved on to "a topic he'd love to talk more about (his fundraising prowess and the economy)." Of course, "early fundraising success doesn't always guarantee electoral success. Just ask Howard Dean, Rudy Giuliani, or Hillary Clinton."

"Mitt Romney's Vegas payoff: Raises $10.25 million in day-long phone-a-thon"

This puts pressure on Romney to deliver: "After months of bad press on the Right about RomneyCare," Mitt's "frontrunner status is paper thin," says Allahpundit at Hot Air. Sure, now the media is saying something positive about him for a change. But that puts pressure on Romney to perform well in early primary states — including socially conservative Nevada, where this fundraiser was held. "If he's lapping the field on money, there's less of an excuse him for not to compete."

"Oh my: Romney raises $10.25 million — in a day"