Who In Georgia Business Loves Romney

[Ursus]

[/i]

With only a few months to go before the first presidential primaries, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is leading the pack as the candidate of choice for Georgia businesses and GOP leaders.

Through the first half of 2007, Romney raised $756,661 in the Peach State, according to the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington, D.C., which tracks campaign finance data. That's more money than any other candidate, although U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was just a few thousand dollars behind him.

Some of the biggest names in Atlanta business are among Romney's donors, including Arthur Blank, owner of the Atlanta Falcons and co-founder of The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD); Don Keough, former president of The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO); and Jeff Fuqua, president of developer The Sembler Co.

Also behind him are GOP U.S. Reps. Phil Gingrey, John Linder and Tom Price; Georgia House Speaker Pro Tem Mark Burkhalter, R-Alpharetta; and Sam Olens, chairman of the Cobb County Commission and the Atlanta Regional Commission.

"He's established himself as the conservative candidate who stands for a strong economy," Burkhalter said. "He's a turnaround artist. Everything he's ever taken on, from Massachusetts to the Salt Lake Olympics, he's turned around. We need that in Washington."

Romney sounded a similar, Reaganesque theme Aug. 15 at the Varsity in Atlanta on his fourth visit to Georgia since the start of 2007. He'll be back Aug. 28 and 29 for fundraising events.

"Washington is fundamentally broken," he said. "Cutting spending, cutting back the scale of government ... that's the way to balance the budget."

Obama was much lighter on major corporate donors. His included Leo Mullin, former CEO of Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL); former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young; and Ben DeCosta, general manager of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., also boasts some high-profile donors. Former Coke President Steven Heyer; developers Wayne Mason, H.J. Russell and John Williams; and WebMD founder Jeff Arnold are all in her camp.

That's not to say Romney's chief declared competitor for the Republican nomination, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, doesn't have his own roster of big-name donors. There's Bernie Marcus, Home Depot's other co-founder; former Georgia-Pacific Corp. CEO Pete Correll; and developers John Portman and Steve Selig. And Georgia House Speaker Glenn Richardson, R-Hiram, is chairing his state campaign.

There are plenty of Atlanta corporate and political icons who haven't voted with their wallets yet. But Romney's list is the longest and deepest so far.

 The co-founder of private equity investment firm Bain Capital LLC, Romney has drawn top executives from Atlanta's financial sector to fill his campaign war chest. They include Neal Aronson, founder of Roark Capital Group; Gordon Teel, CEO of Georgian Bank, the No. 2 locally based bank; Leo Wells, founder of Wells Real Estate Funds Inc.; Paul Garcia, CEO of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN); and Stephen Rogers, former head of Arthur Andersen LLP's local office.

He's got his own cadre of developers: Julian LeCraw, Scott Taylor of Carter and David Allman of Regent Partners LLC. He's got chairmen and CEOs: Joe Rogers of Waffle House Inc., Gary Rollins of Orkin Inc. and Jeff Seaman of Rooms to Go Inc. He's also got Bob Quattrocchi, CEO of Northside Hospital; Woodruff Arts Center President Joe Bankoff; Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz; and many more.

 "He's the smartest guy in the race," Allman said. "I think he has as good a chance as any to beat the Democrats."

Political observers agreed Romney's business background and his success overcoming a huge deficit in Massachusetts are giving him plenty of clout with Georgia's corporate leaders and reform-minded GOP heavyweights.

But they pointed to recent InsiderAdvantage and Strategic Vision polls that showed him trailing Giuliani with 6 percent to 9 percent of the Georgia vote in a very crowded field. Actor and former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., who had not declared his candidacy at press time, led with 25 percent to 36 percent.

If Romney wants to overcome that gap, said Charles Bullock, a political scientist at The University of Georgia, he must continue to get out and meet average Georgians as he did Aug. 15.

Bullock said that could overcome his lack of name recognition relative to Giuliani, who many remember from the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, as well as the official position of the Baptist church that Romney's Mormon faith is merely a sect.

Also, if Thompson doesn't enter the race, Romney could pick up votes from some of Thompson's conservative supporters, said Merle Black, an Emory University political scientist.

Black said the true barometer for Georgia may not be the nation's first primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire, where Romney is ahead in the polls, but Florida's, where Giuliani leads. Florida's primary is Jan. 29; Georgia and a dozen other states will take their turn Feb. 5.

"It would help Romney in Georgia to win Iowa and be seen as a winner," Black said. "But whoever wins in Florida will be elevated in Georgia."

Reach Mahoney at [email protected].

[Ursus]

Pretty incestuous group; a lot of these people tend to do business with one another.  Let's list the noted players...



"Some of the biggest names in Atlanta business are among Romney's donors, including Arthur Blank, owner of the Atlanta Falcons and co-founder of The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD); Don Keough, former president of The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO); and Jeff Fuqua, president of developer The Sembler Co."

"Also behind him are GOP U.S. Reps. Phil Gingrey, John Linder and Tom Price; Georgia House Speaker Pro Tem Mark Burkhalter, R-Alpharetta; and Sam Olens, chairman of the Cobb County Commission and the Atlanta Regional Commission."

"Romney has drawn top executives from Atlanta's financial sector to fill his campaign war chest. They include Neal Aronson, founder of Roark Capital Group; Gordon Teel, CEO of Georgian Bank, the No. 2 locally based bank; Leo Wells, founder of Wells Real Estate Funds Inc.; Paul Garcia, CEO of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN); and Stephen Rogers, former head of Arthur Andersen LLP's local office."

"He's got his own cadre of developers: Julian LeCraw, Scott Taylor of Carter and David Allman of Regent Partners LLC. He's got chairmen and CEOs: Joe Rogers of Waffle House Inc., Gary Rollins of Orkin Inc. and Jeff Seaman of Rooms to Go Inc. He's also got Bob Quattrocchi, CEO of Northside Hospital; Woodruff Arts Center President Joe Bankoff; Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz; and many more."