The Romney campaign looks forward to the day when they can stop spending all their time asking donors for money — but they're not there yet.
In a conference call with reporters Monday morning, senior Romney adviser Ed Gillespie was asked why Mitt Romney doesn't spend more time holding public campaign events. His response was unusually blunt: They need more money.
"He has been doing a lot of events, but a lot of them have been fundraising events," Gillsepie said, adding, "We have to compete with a very well-funded Obama machine on the other side."
He went on to bemoan the time they've had to spend in non-swing states, rather than stumping in places like Virginia, Ohio, and Florida.
"I don't think anybody considers Utah to be on the target state list, but it was an important event for us," Gillespie said of a recent fundraiser held in Salt Lake City.
He said they hoped to soon have enough money in their campaign coffers to carry them through November 6th.
"We're all looking forward to that moment in time," he said.
Gillespie's comments, coupled with Romney's defense of his light campaign schedule in a gaggle with reporters Sunday, could be read as an effort to telegraph a need for more money from reluctant donors. Recent reports have suggested that Romney's campaign may be in a weaker financial position than some thought. And with polls showing the Republican trailing in key battleground states, sme wealthy donors may be weighing their likely return on investment as they hesitate to write checks.
Meanwhile, Romney has blamed the need for more fundraising on President Obama's decision to ditch the federal campaign finance system in 2008.