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The Mitt Romney 2012 Presidential campaign began informally shortly after the 2008 Presidential election. Having campaigned for the Republican nomination in 2008, the former Governor of Massachusetts was frequently mentioned as a possible candidate for the 2012 Republican Party nomination for U.S. President.

Romney stopped short of a full-fledged candidacy until the beginning of 2011. Romney filed his organization with the Federal Elections Commission as an exploratory committee, and announced the organization in a video message on April 11, 2011. He officially announced his candidacy in Stratham, New Hampshire, on June 2, 2011.

Background
Romney ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, winning several primary and caucus contests but losing to John McCain.

After the 2008 election, Romney paved the way for a possible 2012 presidential campaign by keeping much of his PAC's money to underwrite salaries and consulting fees for his existing political staff and to build up a political infrastructure for what might become a $1 billion campaign three years hence. He also had a nationwide network of former staff and supporters eager for him to run again. He continued to give speeches and raise campaign funds on behalf of fellow Republicans.

Romney finished first in the CPAC straw poll in 2009 and second in 2010 and 2011, won the Southern Republican Leadership Conference straw poll in 2010, and won the New Hampshire Straw Poll in 2011.

Exploratory committee
Before a slower start to the presidential campaign by all contenders than four years previous, on April 11, 2011, Mitt Romney announced by means of a video recorded that day at an athletics field at the University of New Hampshire that he had formed an exploratory committee as a first step for a potential run for a Republican presidential campaign, saying, "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 also unveiled his new presidential campaign logo and slogan, "Believe in America". The logo was criticized for bearing too much resemblance to the logo for the toothpaste Aquafresh, and the slogan was criticized for being the same as fellow Massachusetts politician John Kerry in his 2004 presidential campaign.

Formal announcement
Romney formally announced his candidacy for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination at an outdoor gathering in Stratham, New Hampshire, on June 2, 2011. In his announcement speech, he pledged to make the U.S. economy the main focus of his campaign, saying "My number one job will be to see that America is number one in job creation."

Fundraising
On May 16, 2011, the Romney campaign announced that it had raised $10.25 million "in connection with today's call day fundraiser in Nevada." This was hailed in the media as "an impressive one day total." Thereafter, however, the Los Angeles Times reported that "the amount actually represented pledges gathered earlier and tallied that day, not just funds actually taken in by the campaign." Later, it was discovered that Romney had actually raised $2.403 million on May 16, about a quarter of the claimed amount.

For the entire second quarter, the campaign expected to raise only about $20 million, less than the $44 million raised in that period in 2007 but still more than any of the other Republican candidates. Romney's campaign raised $18.5 million by the end of June, $14 million more than Ron Paul, who came 2nd in funding amongst Republican candidates.

Advertising
In his previous campaign, Romney had begun television advertising in March 2007. In the 2012 cycle, however, his first advertisement did not air until November 2011. The 60-second spot, broadcast in New Hampshire, was widely criticized for using a quotation from Obama out of context. It included a clip of Obama apparently saying, "If we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose." It did not disclose that Obama, speaking in the 2008 campaign, had been quoting an email from an aide to his opponent, John McCain, which concerned McCain's campaign strategy, not Obama's. The Romney campaign defended the ad. According to The Boston Globe, "Romney aides even said they were proud of the reaction and suggested that the ad was deliberately misleading to garner attention."

Dog controversy
In 2007, the Boston Globe reported that, in 1983, Romney transported his pet dog Seamus on the roof of their automobile for twelve hours enroute a family cottage in Beach O'Pines, Ontario. Seamus was enclosed in a carrier on the roof of the Romney family's station wagon. Sometime during the trip, the dog became afflicted with diarrhea, causing excrement to flow down the windows of the car. Romney stopped at a gas station to wash Seamus and the car, put Seamus back in his carrier, and continued the twelve-hour trip to Ontario.

During the 2012 campaign, candidate Newt Gingrich aired a television advertisement that featured the story. In order to contrast Barack Obama with Mitt Romney, David Axelrod, Obama's chief political consultant, twittered a picture of Obama and his dog, Bo, in the presidential limousine, with the caption "How loving owners transport their dogs". Mark Halperin, the senior political analyst for Time magazine and MSNBC, opined that "for a lot of voters" the incident was "a serious issue". An entrepreneur selling "Dogs Against Romney" merchandise said that the incident had "struck a chord" because, unlike more important issues, it was "something that everyone can understand." In 2012, a campaign was initiated to create a neologism 'romney' which has the definition 'to defecate in terror'.

CPAC Straw Poll
Romney won the 2012 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Straw Poll in February with 38% of the vote. The poll is traditionally considered an important barometer of the sentiments of conservative activists, though its credibility has been questioned in recent years. The New York Times wrote that the Romney campaign was busing in students from along the East Coast to support Romney,. After Romney's victory was announced, Rick Santorum, who finished second in the straw poll with 31%, said he doesn't "try to rig straw polls", adding "talk to the Romney campaign and [see] how many tickets they bought. We've heard all sorts of things." . Politico said a Republican source had confirmed the campaign bought CPAC registrations to ensure the win.

Iowa caucuses
Initially, Romney was declared the winner of the 2012 Iowa Republican caucuses, surpassing rival candidate Rick Santorum by eight votes. Upon official vote count, Santorum was found to have obtained thirty-four more votes than Romney and was declared the winner Former Iowa Republican Chairman Richard Schwarm stated, "I think people realize it's a tie." The day final results were announced, "Governor Romney called Senator Santorum to congratulate him on the Iowa results," said Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul.

New Hampshire primary
The weekend ahead of the New Hampshire primary on January 10, Romney participated in two debates, which Reuters said Romney "weathered well." Newt Gingrich attacked Romney with allegations that he had destroyed companies and fired workers while working for Bain Capital. Romney won the New Hampshire primary with 39.3 percent of the vote.

South Carolina primary
The South Carolina Republican primary was scheduled for Saturday, January 21, 2012. Several polls showed Romney having a slight lead over Gingrich in South Carolina. Gingrich continued to criticize Romney for causing job losses, Rick Perry referred to Romney's role at Bain Capital as 'vulture capitalism', and Sarah Palin stated that Romney needed to prove that Bain actually created 100,000 jobs as Romney has claimed. The negative advertising campaign was mainly sponsored by "Winning Our Future", the super PAC that supports Gingrich. Allegations of animal cruelty resurfaced regarding a 1983 family vacation where Romney transported his dog Seamus in a carrier atop his automobile for twelve hours. During debates in Myrtle Beach and Charleston, Romney came in second place in the primary with 28% of the vote, behind Newt Gingrich with 40% of the vote, but ahead of Rick Santorum (17%) and Ron Paul (13%).

Florida primary
Polls taken immediately after the South Carolina primary showed Newt Gingrich in the lead but polls released a few days later placed Romney in first place. At least 200,000 Floridians voted via absentee ballots or early voting, a factor thought to favor Romney who aggressively campaigned in Florida in early January. Romney participated in both of the four-man debates that were held on Monday, January 23 and Thursday, January 26.

Romney released tax returns for 2010 and estimates for 2011. . He showed income over that period of $42.5 million. His effective tax rate for 2010 was 13.9 percent, and he estimated that it would be 15.4 percent for 2011. About $13 million of his income was in "carried interest" and hence eligible for favorable tax treatment under a provision that Democrats have sought to end. It was also disclosed that Romney had investments in the Cayman Islands and had had a Swiss bank account until it was closed in 2010 because of possible political embarrassment.

On January 31 Romney won the 2012 Florida primary with 46% of the vote.

Nevada caucuses
The Nevada Republican caucuses were held on Saturday, February 4th. Less than 33,000 Republican tooks part in the Nevada caucuses which proportionally awards 28 Republican delegates. Romney won 50% of the caucus-goers, followed by Gingrich at 21%, Paul at 19%, and Santorum at 10%. Romney won 14 delegates, whereas Gingrich, Paul, and Santorum were awarded 6, 5, and 3 delegates respectively.

Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri
Rival candidate Rick Santorum surprised observers by winning all the three of the states holding votes on February 7. Romney lost to the former Pennsylvania Senator by 5 points in the Colorado caucus, finished third with 17% behind Ron Paul and Santorum in the Minnesota caucuses, and, in a contest that did not actually award any delegates and did not include Newt Gingrich on the ballot, lost the Missouri primary to Santorum by a 30 point margin.

Maine
Romney was initially declared the narrow winner of the Maine Caucus, but the results are now subject to a recount after several counties were not counted.

Michigan and Arizona
Michigan and Arizona held their Presidential primaries on Tuesday, February 28th, and allocated 29 and 30 Republican delegates, respectively. CNN moderated a Republican primary debate in Mesa, Arizona on February 22, 2012. The Arizona Republican primary is ‘winner-take-all’ and the Michigan Republican delegate results are allocated proportionately among the candidates by voting district.

Washington state
The state of Washington held their caucuses on Saturday, March 3rd, with Mitt Romney gaining momentum going into 'Super Tuesday'. Their delegate vote at convention will be finalized later.