Mitt Romney Raffles Meeting With Unnamed Vice Presidential Pick

July 13, 2012 RSS Feed Print

The veepstakes may, as I argued in my column this week, be an overrated nothingburger, but give Mitt Romney's team credit for monetizing the overwrought hype.

Romney may not have announced his vice presidential pick yet, but he's already fundraising off of his running mate. In E-mails sent to supporters Thursday night and Friday morning (including over the NationalTeaPartyAlert.com mailing list), the Romney campaign has invited supporters to contribute in order to get a chance to meet what it is calling "America's Comeback Team."

[See a collection of political cartoons on the 2012 campaign.]

In the E-mail, Campaign Manager Matt Rhoades writes, "We're getting ready to share some exciting news. Sometime between now and the Republican convention, Mitt will be announcing his choice for VP." Wow that is exciting. Who could have seen that coming? Rhoades continues: "Know what's even more exciting? Every week until the VP announcement is made, one lucky supporter will win the chance to meet Mitt and his choice for VP." The E-mail asks supporters to contribute $3 to be entered in the veep raffle, adding that it's a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—don't pass this one up."

This is the latest iteration of the campaign season's new trend of ramping up voter engagement by raffling off meetings, dinners, and the like. It started with the Obama campaign giving low dollar donors the chance to dine with the president. Can a backstage spot at the debates be far off?