Republican Mitt Romney Raising Money In Stamford Wednesday Night

Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney has been successful in raising money in Connecticut, and he is coming back to Fairfield County tonight.

Romney is scheduled to appear at the Stamford Marriott, the towering hotel overlooking Interstate 95 that has been the location for numerous political events through the years. The Marriott was the site of an appearance by President Barack Obama on behalf of Democrat Dick Blumenthal in his 2010 battle against Republican wrestling entrepreneur Linda McMahon.

The Romney fundraiser will cost $2,500 per person – the amount that many Republican supporters have already dropped into his coffers. Top party stalwarts like House Republican leader Larry Cafero of Norwalk were headed to the event Wednesday.

Like Romney’s other fundraisers that have been staged quietly in lower Fairfield County, the Stamford event is closed to the press.

Romney’s path to the nomination has been slower than many Republicans expected. He is raising money Wednesday in both New York and in Stamford after a lackluster showing on Tuesday night when he placed third in two primaries in the South. Santorum has now won 10 states, while U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas - generally seen as the trailer in the GOP primaries – has not won any contests.

Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum won both the Alabama and Mississippi primaries on Tuesday night, while Romney came in third place. Insiders said it was a bad night for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who had placed much of his strategy on winning Southern states like Alabama. So far, Gingrich has won two states: Georgia and South Carolina.

Romney criticized his main rival, telling CNN that “Senator Santorum is at the desperate end of his campaign and is trying in some way to boost his prospects, and, frankly, misrepresenting the truth is not a good way of doing that.”