By ELIZABETH BEWLEY, Gannett Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - If campaign donations translated into votes, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney would sail to victory in the Volunteer State.
Campaign finance records show Romney raised $898,081 from Tennessee donors as of Dec. 31 - almost double President Barack Obama's haul of $482,599 and more than four times as much as the nearest Republican rival, Texas Rep. Ron Paul.
Romney raised most of his money - 57 percent - during the final three months of the year.
While former Texas Gov. Rick Perry was the top fundraiser in Middle Tennessee when reports were last filed on Sept. 30, Romney had taken over that title by year's end. He brought in more than $379,000 from donors in ZIP codes beginning with 372, 370 and 371, which encompass Nashville, Clarksville, Murfreesboro and surrounding areas. That accounts for 42 percent of Romney's fundraising statewide.
Overall, the presidential candidates have raised more than $2.4 million in Tennessee so far. More than 45 percent of that sum came from Middle Tennessee.
Experts say Romney's strong political organization in Tennessee and his frontrunner status in the Republican field have helped him raise money across the state. Romney announced Tuesday that Gov. Bill Haslam, who had already endorsed him, will chair his Tennessee campaign, and former Gov. Winfield Dunn will lead a slate of 48 delegates Romney could carry to the Republican National Convention this summer. Major Republican fundraisers, including Ted Welch and Jim Haslam, Haslam's father, also have held leadership roles in Romney's campaign.
"We are glad to have the endorsement of Gov. Haslam and many other Tennessee leaders," said Romney spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg in an emailed response to questions Friday. "Tennesseans are supporting Mitt Romney because they realize he is the best candidate to beat Barack Obama, and that he is the best choice to cut spending, grow the economy, and create jobs."
Asked if the campaign would spend some of that money on advertisements before Tennessee's March 6 primary - as Romney's "super PAC" has already done - Henneberg said the campaign "will continue to reach out to voters across the state" in the remaining weeks before the election.
Tennesseans who donated to Romney's campaign said the former Bain Capital executive's business experience, demeanor and stable family life made him more attractive than Paul, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.
"He's the most conservative candidate running," said Melvin Waldron of Nashville, a retired state employee who contributed $192 to Romney's campaign last fall. "He's worked for a living and hasn't lived off the government dole, like Obama and Gingrich and Santorum."
Jesse Lee Jones, who owns Robert's Western World in downtown Nashville and donated the maximum $2,500 to Romney's campaign last year, doesn't call himself conservative - he's a fan of former Democratic President Bill Clinton. But he said Romney is the first candidate he has supported financially since moving to the United States from Brazil years ago.
"You have to pick the candidate that you feel more comfortable with, and I really believe that Mitt Romney is not only a man of character and integrity, but I believe he's very presidential," Jones said.
Romney's supporters dismissed the common criticism that Romney has changed his stance on issues too often.
"Winston Churchill said to change is good, and if you change enough you'll become perfect," said Waldron.
Obama raised the second-highest sum in Middle Tennessee - more than $236,000 - and Perry, who left the race in January, followed with more than $226,000. Experts say Perry's personal connections in Nashville, due in part to his son Griffin's time as a Vanderbilt student, may have partly explained his success in the area.
Among candidates still in the race, Paul raised more than $66,000 in Middle Tennessee and $204,326 statewide. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich brought in more than $30,000 in the Nashville area and $105,910 across Tennessee.
Lee Synnott of Murfreesboro, a retired executive of a distribution company, said he contributed $1,500 to Gingrich's campaign last fall because Gingrich "has a proven ability to get both sides of the aisle working together, and that's so badly needed."
Synnott sees Gingrich's years of experience in Washington as a bonus, not a drawback.
"I think he understands the issues far better than the other candidates," he said. "He's lived it for a long time."
Santorum trailed far behind, raising just $9,570 statewide - more than two-thirds of that from donors in Middle Tennessee.
But Vanderbilt political scientist John Geer said campaign money - or a lack of it - won't necessarily correspond to votes on March 6.
Little statewide polling has been performed, but Geer said he wouldn't be surprised if Romney, Gingrich and Santorum "were locked in a reasonably close battle" in Tennessee.
"Romney's the favorite candidate of the establishment, and the establishment is going to have more money. He's trying to use that advantage everywhere he can," Geer said. "We'll see if that translates to votes on Election Day, but right now we just don't know."
--
Contact Elizabeth Bewley at ebewley@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @ebewley.