Romney Aims to Raise $50 Million for KO Punch to Rivals

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney told a group of fundraisers at New York’s Harvard Club that he wants to raise $50 million, and fast. Romney is meeting with potential donors in 30 cities across the country in hopes of raising large amounts of cash to establish himself as the prohibitive favorite for the Republican presidential nomination, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

Mitt Romney

One fundraiser who attended the meeting said Romney wants to raise the $50 million by early summer, just in time for the first financial filing deadline. But others said that number is the goal for the entire primary season.

The goal of raising so much so fast is to knock out “anyone who is squeamish,” one fundraiser said. During Romney’s run for the GOP presidential nomination four years ago, he raised $60 million, according to finance records.

Romney told the crowd that he’s likely to announce his presidential exploratory committee in early April. And he has extended his originally scheduled 15-city fundraising tour to 30 cities.