Playing catch-up before the race begins

Mitt Romney faces a daunting to-do list as he transitions into the role of likely Republican presidential nominee.

Among the tasks: raise as much money as possible for the general election campaign against President Barack Obama; hire more people and send them to the most critical states in the fall race; hone his message to appeal to voters across the political spectrum.

And do it all quickly while fending off challenges from GOP rivals who refuse to quit the primary race.

Obama, with the advantages of an incumbent, is well ahead of Romney on fundraising, organisation, and broad pitches to voters. So Romney can be expected to spend part of his time over the next three weeks trying to catch up. There’s a break in the primaries lasting until Apr 24, when several north-east states vote.

Romney also must start thinking about a running mate and strategy to amass the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House on Nov 6.

The former Massachusetts governor must prepare to put his imprint on the Republican National Committee and figure out how to achieve unity with a conservative base that has resisted his candidacy. In the general election, party loyalists will be counted on to raise money and get out the vote.

“I do think the Romney team is thinking about how they put in place their fall campaign,” said Terry Nelson, once a top aide to former president George W Bush. “But they clearly have some contests to get through, so they won’t be able to turn their eyes entirely to that.”

There is little question that Romney will clinch the nomination in June, if not before. He has a wide lead in the race for the 1,144 delegates required to secure the GOP nomination. But chief rival Rick Santorum says he will press on at least through the end of the month. Pennsylvania, the state he represented first in the House and then in the Senate, votes on Apr 24, along with Connecticut, Delaware, New York and Rhode Island.

In hopes of convincing Republicans it is time to rally behind Romney, leading Republicans such as Sen Marco Rubio of Florida and Rep Paul Ryan of Wisconsin have endorsed him recently. Both are viewed as potential running mates. On Wednesday, Rhode Island governor Don Carcieri said he would back Romney and Iowa governor Terry Branstad may announce his support soon.

After his Easter holiday weekend break, Romney is expected to plunge back into fundraising in New York and South Florida. That is none too soon for Republicans, given Obama’s fundraising advantage.

Obama, without a Democratic challenger, has been free to raise money strictly for the general election. He’s so far raised more than $300m (€230m) for his re-election campaign and the Democratic National Committee.