Candidate bio - Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney

1. Crossroads announcing $25 million ad push
  Updated 15 minutes ago 5/16/2012 7:27:54 PM +00:00 An independent group favoring Republican Mitt Romney is launching a $25 million, monthlong advertising campaign against President Barack Obama in 10 states, further escalating an expensive TV ad war in presidential battleground states less than six months before Election Day. Full story
2. Updated 20 minutes ago 5/16/2012 7:22:59 PM +00:00 Romney joins congressional Republicans in debt attack
3. NBC Politics: Biden launches Bain attack on Romney in Rust Belt speech
4. Updated 113 minutes ago 5/16/2012 5:49:12 PM +00:00 Romney giving up on home state of Massachusetts
5. As 'SNL' season ends, signs of a coming shift
6. THE RACE: Endorsements slow as Romney closes in
1. Updated 32 minutes ago 5/16/2012 7:10:58 PM +00:00 Clinton takes aim at Romney’s budget plan

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Profile: Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney is the former governor of Massachusetts and a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. The son of former Michigan Gov. George Romney, who also sought the GOP presidential nod in 1968, Romney was raised in the suburbs of Detroit and served on a Mormon mission in France before going on to earn his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University and a J.D./M.B.A. from Harvard University. Romney cofounded Bain Capital, ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 1994, and headed the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He served one term as governor, from 2003-2007, and sought the GOP presidential nomination unsuccessfully in 2008.

Full name:	Willard Mitt Romney
Date of birth:	Mar 12, 1947 in Detroit, Mich.
Family:	Married to Ann Romney, 5 sons, 16 grandchildren
Religion:	Mormon
Education:	B.A. Brigham Young University (1971), J.D./M.B.A., Harvard University (1975)
Resume:	Cofounded Bain Capital in 1984, ran 2002 Winter Olympics, Governor of Massachusetts (2003-07)

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Social: From the field

Profile: Mitt Romney on the issues

Jobs Romney has a 59-page plan that leans on a series of reforms to tax, budgetary, energy, trade, regulatory and labor policies to spur job creation. Read the whole plan here.
Taxes Romney wants to cut the corporate tax rate to 25 percent and maintain personal income tax levels past their expiration date in 2013. Romney also wants to eliminate taxes on investment income for taxpayers making less than $200,000.
Budget Romney would seek in immediate cut in non-defense discretionary spending by 5 percent. Beyond that, he’d seek to cap government spending at 20 percent of the Gross Domestic Product, along with a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution.
Regulations Romney supports repealing the recent Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform legislation, and would pursue tort reform.
Entitlement programs Romney would transform Medicaid into a block grant program for states, but is less specific about his plans for Social Security and Medicare; he’s suggested possibly raising the retirement age or means-testing benefits as possible Social Security reforms.
Health care reform Romney supports the repeal of President Obama’s health care reform law, and has said he would sign an executive order on his first day as president to undo many aspects of the law.
Foreign policy Romney’s foreign policy would reverse defense cuts, and boost funding for the Navy and missile defense programs. He would order a full review of the transition out of Afghanistan, and work to deter threatening nations like Iran while enhancing partnerships with friendly nations, in part through economic incentives.
Immigration Romney opposes in-state college tuition for the children of illegal immigrants, and supports building a fence along the border with Mexico, staffed by enough armed guards to secure it.
Energy/Environment Romney would direct the Department of Energy to review domestic energy production capacity. On the environment, Romney would seek a re-write of the Clean Air Act to bar regulation of carbon emissions, and encourage new nuclear energy.
Abortion Romney considers himself in opposition to abortion rights and has pledged to appoint jurists who share a similar legal view.
Same-sex marriage Romney says marriage should be between one man and one woman, and that this determination should be made at the federal level.
Climate change Not available