Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney was favourite to win the Republican nomination before the Iowa caucuses, but scored disappointingly in the Des Moines contest. He then got his campaign back on the road with a win in Michigan and followed it up with victory in Nevada.
Romney is vehemently disliked by the other candidates – feelings that were shared by voters in his early political career. But, after pushing the virtually unbeatable Ted Kennedy all the way for a seat in the Senate, he was elected Governor of Massachusetts – a state where, in his own words, conservative Republicans are usually as popular as cattle ranchers at a vegetarian convention.
He is credited with saving the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City and is a practising Mormon – not usually a great career move in American politics, but as his career shows, Romney is a master at taking on a political challenge.
His father ran for the presidency in 1968 and gave Romney junior the Christian name Willard – another challenge he appears to have overcome. Mitt fans will be hoping he continues to build momentum as the ‘Comeback Kid’ of this presidential race.
