Mitt Romney quietly opens Iowa office

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney introduces himself to voters at the Iowa State Fair August 11, 2011 in Des Moines, Iowa.

/ Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Mitt Romney is skipping a big Republican presidential candidates' forum in Iowa Saturday, but that doesn't mean he's skipping out on the Hawkeye state.

The former Massachusetts governor - who has kept a deliberately low profile in a state that gave him a rude stumble coming out of the box in his 2008 presidential effort - quietly opened a campaign office in Des Moines this week.

While some of Romney's rivals have made photo opportunities of such headquarters' openings, Team Romney is not going out of its way to publicize its Iowa beachhead.

Romney's Iowa team consists of his top Iowa strategist, Dave Kochel; state director Sara Craig; and three field staffers, all of whom have been on board for some time.

This is in stark contrast to his office in Manchester, New Hampshire, with a staff nearly double in size - though the Granite State is half as large as its Hawkeye counterpart. Romney is putting a big emphasis on New Hampshire, where he's practically a favorite son. As governor of neighboring Massachusetts, he was a familiar presence on the state's TV screens and he owns a vacation home in the Granite State.

In Iowa, Romney has been such an infrequent visitor that Gov. Terry Branstad, a fellow Republican, has publicly chided Romney for his truancy.

Four years ago, Romney was badly burned in Iowa, finishing a distant second to Mike Huckabee despite having poured resources into the state for more than a year.

The Mormon ex-governor has had difficulty gaining traction with evangelical voters, a key constituency among Iowa caucus-goers.

The Iowa forum that Romney is skipping on Saturday ? while six of his chief rivals attend ? is sponsored one of the state's leading evangelical groups.

Even so, a respected poll of GOP caucus-goers by the Des Moines Register showed Romney within striking distance of a win.

And, despite a two-month absence from Iowa between August and October, Romney has been slowly ramping up in the state. He has been to Iowa twice in the last month, and is heading back again on Wednesday.

During Romney's last trip to the state, on November 7, professional cameras shot his appearance, leading to speculation that he was filming a commercial and will be on the air there shortly. The campaign has yet to confirm this, and Romney commercials have not yet appeared on air anywhere in the country.

[prphyllis]

I have just heard your first campaign ad. If I ever thought about voting for you, you have just blown it. I cannot believe that anyone with any scruples could take such liberties with quotes. You could at least use Obama's own words, nit a quote from John McCain. Shame on you. I thought you were more honorable than that. Phyllis Pelletier

[wvufan01]

Mitt thinks he had Iowa by the palm of his hand! Look out Mitt, your poll mumbers might coming down, in the next few days!!

[wvufan01]

Looks like Mitt, thinking he had Iowa by the palm of his hand! Look out Mitt, your poll mumbers might coming down, in the next few days!!

[wvufan01]

Looks like Mitt, thinking he had Iowa by the palm of his hand! Look out Mitt, your poll mumbers might coming down, in the next few days!!

[saboori]

It's ridiculous to call Romney the most electable of the candidates. He lost most of the elections in which he campaigned. And he's spent his entire career losing elections - that's why he brags about not being a career politician. Unlike Romney who is running away from his record to manipulate the voters, Gov. Perry is running on his very successful and strong record of achievements. Perry provides results that no other candidate can claim. Mitten will lose on 2012, but Perry will win, that is why MSM is going after him and not Romney.

[Doernottalker]

My case against Mitt Romney: The White House will turn him into Gordon Gekko.

Bain Capital, the unltimate Wall Street insider, took companies, stripped them of their assets, made loads of money for Bain Capital and its partners and left the businesses to go bankrupt. May be the most efficient use of capital in the big economic picture but there are employees and families behind each one of those canibalized businesses.

From the movie Wall Street:
Bud Fox: How much is enough?
Gordon Gekko: It's not a question of enough, pal. It's a zero sum game, somebody wins, somebody loses. Money itself isn't lost or made, it's simply transferred from one perception to another.

How's that going to play against Obama's backdrop of Fat Cat Wall Street that ruined your life and he is going to save you from?

[rsdcllc]

So many people use movies to make a point.nowadays! Only problem, movies are fiction, they're not real. I think most of what you think and say is fiction, as well. Money, the economy, is not a zero sum game. Liberals believe that, it seems, but, not true. Liberals tell us , just ask Occupy Wall Street, that Wall Street is the great evil! When, in fact, it's run away government which is evil! Wall Street would not have been able to do it's evil deeds without Government's collusion and collaboration! Since you like movies. let me quote one about government's power. In " Vacation", Chevy Chase( Clark Griswald) asks the the mechanic, " How much do I owe you?" The mechanic says, " How much you got?" That's what has gotten us into trouble, as a nation, our government wants all the power that " we got!"

[saboori]

You are right on. Mitten is a loser after all. He is UNELECTABLE, and cannot be trusted, period.

[AmericanCrow]

I like Romney's strategy to keep his distance from the other republican candidates' circus shows. No, he's not perfect, but I'm really impressed with his business and leadership intellect, as well as his personal character. He's been faithful to his wife, family, and religion, and he's a service-oriented and compassionate neighbor and leader. Those qualities always inevitably shine through in the office of President, just as they always do in everyday life.

[tvwatcher5345]

why mitt did you hire the pro-israeli neocons from the bush administration, who got us into the worst military blunder (iraq), for you foreign policy team?

[DebbieCorona]

Mitt Romney quietly opens Iowa office because to do otherwise would once again reflect on Romney's I am, I'm not, I am, it's a different form of his flip flop flipping. Key will be how much power play Cheney/Rove have in Iowa as the backers of Romney. It's not only a question of evangelical's accepting a Mormon but a question of Iowa wanting to support G.W.Bush policies again.

[54mikedean]

"The Mormon ex-governor? Gee Sarah, you just couldn't pass up the opportunity could you. Is that how you refer to the other candidates? Santorum, the Catholic senator; Perry, the Christian governor; Cain, the Baptist pizza maker? The media's fixation with Romney's religion only serves to expose their own biases.