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NASHUA, New Hampshire — Mitt Romney's election night party will be in Boston, but the Republican presidential candidate spent election eve campaigning in swing states.
The busy day wrapped up in New Hampshire, Monday night, where polls show just a 2-point difference — and Romney is fighting for those four electoral votes.
In the Granite State, dozens of volunteers at call centers worked the phones, targeting people who haven't yet cast a ballot.
"It's huge," said Penny Hommeier, a New Hampshire Romney volunteer. "When we talk to people … we ask if they're going to vote. They say, ‘We can't wait to vote. We're going to go early.'"
Hommeyer and fellow Romney volunteer Kate Kelahler have strong feelings about their candidate. They traveled 20 or so miles from their homes in Massachusetts to help in Nashua, N.H.
Part of the reason for their support: what they remember about his time as governor of their home state.
"I think he was a great governor. He worked across the aisle. He balanced the budget. I think he was terrific," Kelahler said.
Romney's sons are working the campaign trail too. Tagg and Ben Romney were in New Hampshire as well Monday, but all five have been flying to as many swing states as their parents have.
Obviously, we're nervous, but we're also confident. We believe my dad is going to win.
–Ben Romney
With the race being so close, we asked them if they were nervous for Election night, now only hours away.
"Of course we're nervous, Tagg said. "No one really knows what's going to happen. We feel very good that we're going to win."
"Obviously, we're nervous," Ben added, "but we're also confident. We believe my dad is going to win."
I was clear all of the New Hampshire volunteers feel the same way. They share a passionate belief that Romney will win, and usher in change for 2013.
Multiple Stops
FAIRFAX, Va. — In the final days before the election, it's all about crisscrossing the country, talking to thousands of people and keeping them excited to get out and vote.
Nothing gets a conservative crowd excited like an appearance from Mitt Romney. KSL News rode along with the GOP candidate on a chartered media play as he made multiple appearances in key states Monday.
It started in a hangar at Newport News, Va., Sunday night; Monday morning, the candidate was greeted by cheering fans in Florida.
It's hard to comprehend jet-setting like this until you see it up close: hours in the air after only minutes on the ground.
At least they keep you fed. We enjoyed a healthy breakfast on the airplane, and not-so-healthy offerings at some of the events.
A foreign journalist we spoke to had been at it for weeks. "It's really hard to guess what the difference is between one speech to another," said Baptiste Muckenstur, from France.
It's no doubt been tiring for the Romney family as well, thought they aren't willing to admit it.
"For me, it's a lot of fun to be on the campaign trail and give people a different perspective of who my dad is," Josh Romney said. "This go-around, I think I've been to 30 states and done probably well over 500 events — so we've been busy."
The monetary cost of campaigning is also steep. But Steve Kasteler, vice president of Swift Air — a company that presidential charters since 1984 — said Romney has been as frugal when it comes to travel as any candidate he's known. The candidate ultimately brought a second chartered plane with him because of media interest.
Costs add up
SALT LAKE CITY — It can get extremely expensive very quickly for presidential candidates to fly around the country to campaign, and in the final week the costs soar with more stops and additional considerations like media demand.
"The cost per month is in the neighborhood between $1 million and $2 million for chartering one airplane," Swift Air vice president Steve Kasteler said. "Now if you're doing two (airplanes), you can probably not double it, but it'd be pretty close."
The Salt Lake City-based Kasteler has arranged charters for presidential candidates since 1984. He coordinated a number of Mitt Romney's charters in 2008, as well as some earlier in the year.
A day including five campaign stops in various states - which has been common in the days leading up to the election - can cost in the ballpark of $50,000 to $70,000 for that one day, Kasteler said.
Among the costs included in chartering an aircraft for several months is a daily rate, an hourly rate with a minimum guarantee and a fuel-base cost. Kasteler said catering, de-icing and renting equipment and stairs to de-plane factor in as well.
The costs for the stairs and equipment alone can cost thousands of dollars per day, Kasteler said.
The catering bill can soar wildly, depending on who is flying. Kasteler's company has also arranged flights for royals, rock bands and celebrities.
"I've seen catering bills for eight or nine people be $6,000 or $7,000 for a three hour flight," Kasteler said.
Configuring a plane for a longer term charter agreement adds to the expense. Kasteler said that can run from $100,000 to hundreds of thousands of dollars and can involve bringing in couches and changing seating, and painting the exterior.
Romney "extremely frugal"
Romney has traditionally been "extremely frugal" with charter flights, Kasteler said. He held off as long as he could moving up to a larger plane, previously opting for smaller, corporate-type jets.
"He's not eccentric, he doesn't want anything above and beyond," Kasteler said. "Only when he was probably told, 'Hey you need to get a bigger airplane because the press wants to fly with you' did he then pull that trigger and move into a bigger aircraft."
If they've got the money to be flying around, they should have the money to be paying for the costs up front.
–Steve Kasteler
Romney has been flying with a plane large enough to accommodate over 40 media members, but in the final week his campaign has added a second charter to meet additional media demand.
Members of the media and media organizations have to pay to fly in the campaign charters, as well as pay for the accompanying expenses.
Candidate charters are highly regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Kasteler said, and require up-front money in an escrow account. There is no granting of credit.
"There's been candidates in the past that run on a shoestring at the very end, and the last thing you want to do is basically burn anybody at that point," Kasteler said. "If they've got the money to be flying around, they should have the money to be paying for the costs up front."
Kasteler said campaign charters are generally paid for by donations to the individual candidates through the primary season. The Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee pay the bills for the nominees.
