Mitt Romney won the Texas primary and assured the Republican nomination last week, beating out several other candidates, and the victory is not going unnoticed on campus.
While he has become known as the “multi-million dollar man,” Romney started his journey to the White House in 2008 when he forfeited the GOP nomination to Sen. John McCain. In early 2011, Romney announced his decision to run for the Republican presidential candidate once again.
Looking at Romney’s background, it’s not surprising he entered the world of politics. After leaving Stanford University, Romney attended Brigham Young University, followed by Harvard Business School. He entered the business sector upon graduating and transformed failing corporations into financial powerhouses, an experience he is using to promote his economic plan for the country. Before he began pursuing the presidency, Romney served as the 70 governor of Massachusetts.
Varun Ganesh , a junior in biomedical engineering, said potential to change the country is being wasted every day, and he thinks Romney is the right man for the job.
“Romney’s plan to reduce taxes, regulation and spending is good for America and can be the long term solution for this economic stall,” Ganesh said. “Also, I feel there needs to be a change in the healthcare system, and Romney’s plan is a better alternative to the current system.”
North Carolina is said to be a key to the White House in this year’s election, and Romney is paying attention. In a visit to Charlotte last month, the presidential hopeful made it known he would be targeting North Carolina.
“In North Carolina, of course, our campaign may not be able to keep up with the President’s spending levels…[but] our message is about getting this economy going again,” Romney told Fox News.”And we look at his record, it’s three and a half years of policies that have failed us. We have high levels of unemployment and home foreclosures. The reason I will win is because of my message, not because of my spending.”
Charlotte is one of the main headquarters of the Democratic National Committee, which makes the race for the key state all the more interesting. The city will host the Democratic National Convention in September.
Romney said going up against Obama will be a challenge, but some, including Andy Taylor, professor of political science, think Romney has a better chance than many think.
“Given the [current] poor economy and the president’s low approval ratings, Romney must have a realistic chance,” Taylor said.
Romney won a smaller proportion of the vote than any other Republican nominee in the last thirty years. This may be due to his reputation as a “flip-flopper.”
Conservatives have seen Romney “flip-flop” on issues such as: gay marriage, health care and abortion.
After declaring himself pro-choice in 2002, Romney said in a recent speech that he was firmly pro-life. Furthermore, the passage of Amendment One may have had an effect on Romney’s campaign stance in the state.
“As you know, for a long time, I think from the beginning of my political career, I made it very clear that I believe marriage should be a relationship between a man and a woman,” Romney told Fox News.
Yet, Romney plans to continue going against Obama and give this election a strong effort.
”Even if you like Barack Obama, we can’t afford Barack Obama-it’s time to get someone who will get this economy going and put the American people back to work with good jobs,” Romney said during his May 2012 visit to Charlotte.
In preliminary votes, Romney is losing to Obama with five months till elections.
“Romney’s campaign strategy will help galvanize the party’s conservative wing,” Taylor said. “Like any challenger would, he will spend more time talking about his opponent than himself. So will Obama. The president has pivoted from a ‘Romney-as-flip-flopper’ stance, to a ‘Romney-as-an-extremist’ message.”
Along with visits to North Carolina, Romney has planned several rallies in other key swing states.
