Romney Touts Status as Fundraising King

April 3, 2007 — -- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, currently the Republican fundraising front-runner, told "Good Morning America" anchor Robin Roberts that the $23 million he had raised in the first quarter for his presidential bid had come from all over the country.

"I think [it came] from all 50 states. I'm very heartened by the fact that people who have heard my message and seen me have been willing to part with some money and send it my way," he said. "It's giving us a great boost, a great start, and it's very encouraging to know the message is connecting with people across the country."

Romney surprised many by far-outpacing his fellow Republican White House hopefuls in his fundraising efforts. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., raised only $12.5 million, while Rudy Giuliani raised just $15 million.

According to The New York Times, 15 percent of the money that Romney, who is a Mormon, raised came from Utah residents.

"I think this is a campaign about changing Washington. Americans want a person who is willing to make real dramatic change and transform government to make it more responsive to the needs of our people, bring stronger families, better jobs, better schools, better health care," Romney said. "They're tired of the bickering in Washington. They want somebody who will bring change."

Whether Romney will address the country about his Mormon faith remains to be seen, he said.

"When I go across the country, people I talk to want a person of faith to lead the country, but they don't particularly care what brand of faith it is, as long as they have American values and shared values," he said.

Romney, who has supported President Bush's troop surge, said that he would support a series of private timetables and milestones for withdrawal, but not public announcements of the country's plans.

"There's no question that the president and Prime Minister [Nouri Kamel al-Maliki] have to have a series of timetables. … But they shouldn't be for public pronouncement," he said. "You don't want the enemy to understand how long they have to wait in the weeds before you're gone."