Romney fund-raiser tied to GOP debate

Campaign commercials for White House candidate Mitt Romney hit Utah airwaves for the first time this week to promote a local fund-raising event being held during today's kickoff Republican presidential debate.

The three ads, which began airing Monday on KSL and other area radio stations and continue through today, remind Utahns of Romney's success in saving the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City from a bid-buying scandal.

Listeners are invited to watch the debate at a campaign event set to start at 5:30 p.m. on the 23rd floor of the Wells Fargo Building on Main Street. Brad Smith, a volunteer organizer, said a $100 donation is being requested but any amount will be accepted.

"We really want to get anybody who's interested to be part of it," Smith said, adding organizers are counting on about 500 people attending the event, raising as much as $50,000 for Romney.

Ten Republican presidential candidates, including Arizona Sen. John McCain and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, are expected to participate in the debate being held at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif.

The debate will air live on the MSNBC cable news channel from 6-7:30 p.m. and can also be heard through the news channel's Web site, www.msnbc.com, and The Politco Web site, www.politco.com.

It will be the first debate among Republican candidates in the 2008 presidential race. The first debate among Democratic presidential candidates, also aired by MSNBC, was held on April 26 in South Carolina.

Romney's radio spots feature two Utahns involved in the Salt Lake Olympics, speedskater Derek Parra and former Miss America Charlene Wells Hawkes. Parra, Hawkes and another Olympian, skeleton racer Jim Shea, will all appear at the Romney fund-raiser.

"I won a gold medal in the Salt Lake Olympics. But there was another big winner, Mitt Romney, the world-class leader who saved our Olympics," Parra says in one of the ads prepared just for the Utah market.

Hawkes, one of the thousands of Utah volunteers at the Games, also refers to Romney's time at the helm of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee. "Mitt Romney gave Utah world-class leadership," she said. "He turned around our Olympics."

Romney speaks only at the end of the 30-second spots, advising listeners that he approved the message, which was paid for by his campaign. Those interested in attending the fund-raising event are told to contact the campaign at debate@mittromney.com.