Your daily dose of news and tidbits from the world of money in politics:

ROMNEY OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCES PRESIDENTIAL RUN: Mitt Romney officially announced his campaign for the presidency on Thursday in New Hampshire, pitting himself directly against President Barack Obama, rather than fellow Republicans running against him for the nomination.

“Now, in the third year of his four-year term, we have more than promises and slogans to go by. Barack Obama has failed America,” Romney said during his speech.

Romney outlined creating jobs, cutting spending and balancing the budget as his top priorities if elected. He also briefly addressed the health care legislation he signed in to law while governor of Massachusetts, something Democrats and Republicans have used to blast him. He said he supports a repeal of “Obamacare.” He also touted the importance of states’ rights — some red meat for the ravenously independent-minded New Hampshire electorate. His main point of justification for the Massachusetts health care legislation is that it met the needs of one individual state, and one giant overhaul cannot satisfy each state’s’ needs.

Although Romney’s formal announcement came Thursday, name recognition and his massive fund-raising capacity have helped label him the GOP frontrunner for months. In his failed 2008 campaign for president, Romney raised an impressive $107 million, according to research by the Center for Responsive Politics. Of that total, $59.8 million came from individuals, and about $44.6 million was self-financed. The $107 million total ranked second among Republican candidates only to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) who ultimately won the GOP nomination.

During 2009 and 2010, as Romney fought to remain politically relevant and build a foundation for a possible 2012 president bid,his political action committee, Free and Strong America PAC, raised $9.13 million. The Boston-New Hampshire area topped the list of area contributing to Romney’s PAC, at $441,000.

Utah ranked second among states where Romney received the most money for his 2008 campaign, at nearly $5.5 million. About 11 percent of Romney’s total itemized contributions in Utah came from individuals. (Salt Lake City also ranked fourth on the list of areas to donate to Romney’s PAC during 2009 and 2010.) Those Utah totals could be lower in 2012, given that Romney will likely square off against former Utah Gov. John Huntsman, who continues to build toward a presidential run himself.

Banks and financial firms topped the list of Romney’s donors in 2008, with Goldman Sachs, Citigroup Inc., Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers as the top five, the Center’s research indicates.

Read more about Romney’s previous fund-raising success in this OpenSecrets Blog article.

JOPLIN TORNADOES USED AS FUNDRAISING FODDER: As Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) gears up for the fight against Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) for her seat in 2012, not even the devastating tornadoes in Joplin, Mo. are being left out of the fight, Politico reported.

Akin sent an email to fund-raisers saying his opponent, McCaskill, was not focused enough on helping the victims in Joplin, and therefore voters should donate to his campaign instead.

The email asked citizens “to make a donation of $25, $50 or any amount you can afford. Please chip in to help my campaign to defeat Claire McCaskill.”

Akin, who just announced his intention to run on May 17, raised $458,467 during the first quarter of this year and reported having $910,608.75 cash on hand as of March 31. McCaskill, on the other hand, has raised upward of $1 million during the year’s first three months and reported about $1.8 million cash available on March 31.

McCaskill defeated incumbent James Talent (R-Mo.) in the 2006 election, despite raising less than half his money — $11.4 million to Talent’s almost $23.8 million. Akin, in comparison, has not raised more than $1 million since he originally ran for the house in 2000, according to research by the Center for Responsive Politics.

As of now, winning the seat seems possible for either party. McCaskill narrowly defeated Talent by three points in 2006. During the 2008 presidential race, John McCain (R-Ariz.) took the state in the 2008 election.

The Missouri Democratic Party has spoken out against Akin’s claims, saying McCaskill and Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Miss.) and Rep. Billy Long (R-Miss.) have been working together in the wake of the disaster.

McCaskill also recently spoke out against House Majority Leader Eric Cantor who said additional aid to Joplin would have to be offset by budget cuts, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

PALIN STAYS MUM ON COST OF SARAHPAC-FUNDED BUS TOUR: As her “One Nation Tour” continues, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is just as secretive about the cost of her tour as she is about where the bus is going and when it will get there.

ABC News asked Palin how much the tour cost, and Palin responded “Check SarahPAC.com. I don’t know why in the world you would ask a question like that. I’m just thinking about America and our foundations and our freedoms and our opportunities.”

The cost of the tour is nowhere to be found on SarahPAC.com. Expenditures for the PAC for this year will not be available until mid-July. That’s because during non-election years, federal campaign finance rules allow political action committees that file quarterly to wait until mid-year to report their finances.

What is known: In 2010, SarahPAC spent almost $4.36 million. Campaign expenses made up $1.1 million of that total, and administrative expenses (such as travel, furniture and utilities) came in second, at $886,400, according to Center for Responsive Politics research.

Fund-raising fell just behind administrative expenses at $848,500. Campaign contributions to other candidates ranked fourth at $649,100.

And about $486,600 of SarahPAC’s expenditures fell into the “media” realm, including the cost of media consultants and advertisements in various media, including broadcast and print.

Although Palin remains quiet on how much the bus tour will cost SarahPAC, donations are encouraged in numerous spots on the PAC’s website.

Have a news tip or link to pass along? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected].



For permission to reprint for commercial uses, such as textbooks, contact the Center: Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit the Center for Responsive Politics.For permission to reprint for commercial uses, such as textbooks, contact the Center: [email protected]

·

·

·

·

·

·

·

Support Accountability Journalism At OpenSecrets.org we offer in-depth, money-in-politics stories in the public interest. Whether you’re reading about 2020 presidential fundraising, conflicts of interest or “dark money” influence, we produce this content with a small, but dedicated team. Every donation we receive from users like you goes directly into promoting high-quality data analysis and investigative journalism that you can trust. Please support our work and keep this resource free. Thank you. Support OpenSecrets ➜

Read more OpenSecrets News & Analysis: