The year was 2007. The presidential election was heating up and Mitt Romney was campaigning across the country to become the Republican nominee for president.
Meanwhile, The Villages Developer was looking for a candidate to back, having been a huge supporter of George W. Bush during his eight years in office. Romney soon emerged as the favorite off The Villages brass and he made several visits to the community, presumably to pick up big checks from the Developer, his department heads and other related business that were highly encouraged through a variety of ways to contribute to the presidential hopeful.
In those years, Romney – he’s currently in a constant war of words with President Trump – was selling himself as the ultimate family man. He and wife Ann were married in 1969 and had five sons – Tagg, Josh, Matt, Craig and Ben – whom all played roles in campaigning for their father. The eldest, Tagg, is a management consultant, businessman and venture capitalist. And he clearly took the lead as a key political adviser during his father’s campaign.
But another son, Josh, was involved in a somewhat comical effort that involved Florida’s Friendliest Hometown. The Romney family had come up with a grassroots campaign idea that saw Josh and his father pay a visit to eBay and come away with a used recreational vehicle that was in Phoenix. The family picked up the modest RV and wrapped it in $10,000 worth of Romney campaign graphics and slogans. And before long, the Itasca Sunstar RV had a new name – the “Mitt Mobile.”
With the newly decorated RV deemed road-worthy and the former Massachusetts governor trailing Rudy Giuliani in national polls, Team Romney put its trust in a group of accomplished political advisers who set their sights on Iowa. With his father heavily campaigning in The Hawkeye State – 12 town hall meetings were held across the state in three days – Josh Romney hopped behind the wheel of the Mitt Mobile and traveled to all 99 counties in Iowa, a 3,500-mile trek for the used, high-mileage RV that was designed to espouse the message of his father’s mantra of success comes through hard work.
Eventually, Team Romney set its sights on Florida, and that meant a visit to The Villages was inevitable. Republican candidates made it a point to visit Florida’s Friendliest Hometown, as the community was a GOP mecca that saw large crowds come to support them in rallies in either Spanish Springs Town Square or Lake Sumter Landing.
This time, Romney’s visit included much more than picking up checks. He was scheduled to speak at Market Square in front of a packed-house crowd that had gathered early to hear what he had to say. And Villagers also eagerly awaited the arrival of the Mitt Mobile, which was coming from an earlier campaign stop in Jacksonville.
Romney arrived and spent time hobnobbing with Villages brass and Developer-employed journalists. He shared some laughs, signed autographs and talked about his vision for the country. And he drew a huge round of applause as he vowed the large crowd of Villagers waiting for him at Market Square.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as well for the Mitt Mobile. As Villagers waited for it to arrive, a buzz started circulating that it wasn’t coming. Some reported that it apparently had broken down. And many were disappointed at the possibility of not seeing the RV that actually had gained a following of its own across the country.
But Josh Romney wasn’t about to ruin his father’s successful rally. And before long, the Mitt Mobile rolled into Lake Sumter Landing – on the back of a tow truck.
The haggard RV was parked on a closed-off portion of Old Mill Run in front of Starbucks. And it was opened for Villagers to peek inside and get a first-hand look at the symbol that somewhat defined Romney’s grassroots campaign.
The GOP nomination eventually went to Sen. John McCain, who selected Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. Both McCain and Palin also visited The Villages, with Palin’s rally drawing 60,000 people to Market Square – still the largest crowd ever to attend a political event in the community.
