Welch moves in for Romney and cash

With Fred Thompson out, Tennessee's campaign cash up for grabs

Published January 24, 2008 by Ken Whitehouse

While John McCain may have nabbed Scooter Clippard from the remains of the Fred Thompson campaign, Nashville businessman Ted Welch has wasted no time in putting together a fundraiser for his candidate, Mitt Romney.

This coming Monday, Welch will convene a slew of Nashville business leaders and his East Tennessee GOP fundraising counterpart Jimmy Haslam – brother of Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam – for a fundraiser featuring Scott Romney, Mitt's brother and a prominent Michigan attorney.

The locale of the fundraiser is interesting in its own right: the Nashville law firm of Waller, Lansden, Dortch & Davis. Waller was the site of Thompson's downtown fundraiser and the home of many of his prominent supporters, although none of them are on Romney's host committee for Monday. Also, there is only one elected official on the host committee, House Republican Minority Leader Jason Mumpower.

Invited guests are asked for a $1,000 per person donation, and most of the names listed below have already maxed out, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Here's the list of the host committee:

Colleen & Ted Welch (Dean of Nursing at Vanderbilt University and Ted Welch Investments, respectively)

Dee & Jimmy Haslam (CEO of RIVR Media and CEO of Pilot Travel Centers, respectively)

Chrissy & Bill Hagerty (Hagerty Peterson, a private equity firm)

Bunny & Mike Blackburn (Petra Capital Partners)

Barbara & Greg Burns (CEO and Chairman of O'Charley's)

Connie & Tom Cigarran (Chairman of Healthways and minority owner of the Nashville Predators)

Vivian & Ken Connelly (GarageTek)

Kathryn & Rev. Fred Dettwiller (Det Distributing, Metro Nashville Airport Authority)

The Honorable Winfield Dunn (former Governor of Tennessee)

Rose & Doug Grindstaff (Williamson County Republican Party Chairman)

Gigi & Ted Lazenby (LNC Corp., a private investment company)