With Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney securing wins in the Iowa caucuses, the New Hampshire primary and leading in the polls in South Carolina, more attention will be focused on the former Massachusetts governor who now stands a good chance of facing off against U.S. President Barack Obama. CBCNews.ca examines 13 facts about his life and career.
1. Romney's full name is Willard Mitt Romney. His first name comes from the hotel magnate and his father's best friend J. Willard Marriott. Mitt comes from his father's cousin Milton (whose nickname was Mitt), who played quarterback for the Chicago Bears from 1925 to 1929.
2. Romney's father, George Romney, was a businessman, governor of Michigan and aspiring Republican candidate for president. Popular in his term as governor, he was considered an early favourite over then-vice-president Richard Nixon in the Republican primaries. But Romney's comment that he had "the greatest brainwashing that anybody can get" — a reference to the military and state department officials who had briefed him during a visit to Vietnam — sank his support.
3. During his time as a Mormon missionary in France, the 21-year-old Romney was driving a car that was involved in a serious accident. The car was hit head-on by another vehicle and two people in Romney's car were killed. The other driver was blamed for the accident. According to the Boston Globe, "Romney said he had to be pried out of the car — he was so seriously injured that the police officer who first responded believed him to be dead and wrote "il est mort'' — he is dead — in Romney's passport."
4. Romney's first foray into politics was his Massachusetts senatorial run against Ted Kennedy in 1994. Kennedy, who had held the seat for more than 30 years, was thought to be vulnerable but still ended up defeating the 47-year-old Romney, Romney has expressed some pride that Kennedy was forced to take out a second mortgage on his home in order to finance his campaign.
5. If Romney wins, he would become the first Mormon Republican nominee for president and, if he takes the White House, would become the first American Mormon president. Former Utah governor and Republican rival candidate Jon Huntsman is also a Mormon.
6. Romney has had a few minor brushes with the law. He apparently ran afoul of authorities for a school prank that involved sliding down a local golf course on blocks of ice. In 1981, he was arrested for disorderly conduct when he launched his motorboat in a lake after a park police officer had told him not to because the boat's registration number had been painted over. Romney was cuffed and taken to the local police station, but the charges were later dropped.
7. Romney's personal financial assets are estimated around $250 million, making him the wealthiest Republican nominee and, according to a study by Wealth-X, the richest presidential candidate since Steve Forbes ran in 2000.
8. Romney met his wife Ann in elementary school when he was a Cub Scout, according to his website bio. The two later reconnected at a friend's house, began dating and got married in 1969. Ann Romney was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998, a period her husband referred to as the "toughest time of my life." The disease has been in remission since 2002. In 2008, doctors removed a cancerous lump from her breast.
9. Romney made most of his fortune during his time running the investment firm Bain Capital, which he co-founded, and has boasted throughout the campaign that it has been responsible for creating more than 100,000 jobs though investments in other companies. However, some of his Republican rivals have accused him of making millions from bankrupting companies and laying off workers. The Wall Street Journal conducted an analysis on 77 Bain investments inked from 1984 to 1999, when Romney led the firm. It found that 22 per cent filed for bankruptcy or closed their doors and another eight per cent lost all the money Bain invested. But Bain also recorded 50 per cent to 80 per cent annual gains for its investors, "which experts said was among the best track records for buyout firms in that era."
10. Romney has been given high praise for his role as chief executive officer of the Salt Lake City Olympic Committee during the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. With the games plagued by scandal and $379 million in the hole, Romney went about attracting millions in sponsorships and cutting expenditures, including forcing board members to eat pizza and pop instead of catered lunches. Romney became the public face of the event, leading some critics to accuse him of self-promotion. But the Games eventually made $100 million in profits and was considered a huge success.
11. Romney has said one of the first things he would do as president is repeal "Obamacare," as Republicans call the president's controversial health-care reforms. But Obama has often said that Romney's own health reform initiatives while governor of Massachusetts were the model for his version. While Romney has said the two policies are different, the issue has become his Achilles heel among some fellow Republicans who firmly oppose Obamacare see little difference between the two policies.
12. Romney's family would often spend summers at a lakefront cottage at Beach O'Pines, on the shores of Lake Huron in Grand Bend, Ont. It was that cottage that was the destination for his now widely publicized family road trip from Boston with the family dog, Seamus, in a carrier strapped to the roof of a Chevy station wagon.
13. On an Air Canada flight from Vancouver last year, Romney got into a brief altercation with rap star Sky Blu (a.k.a. Skyler Gordy). After Romney had repeatedly asked Gordy to put his seat up as the flight prepared to take off, Romney apparently tapped (or grabbed) Gordy's shoulder, at which point the rapper took a swing at him. "He gave me a good swat and he broke my hair," Romney joked to David Letterman. Gordy was removed from the plane but the two later reconciled, Romney said.
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