Romney works to build name recognition

? Republican Mitt Romney, who surprised his presidential rivals last month with his one-day, $6.5 million haul, added nearly $1 million more to the till Thursday as candidates faced the reality that dollars distinguish the legitimate hopefuls from the pretenders.

Romney capped his three-day announcement tour with a $1,000-per-person fundraiser at Boston’s new convention center, part of a frenetic money dash. On Tuesday alone, he raced from Dearborn, Mich., site of his campaign kickoff, to Iowa and then back to Dearborn for an event organizers hoped would raise $400,000.

Aides said the capstone event raised nearly $1 million more, both from the large but subdued crowd and others who sent checks in their absence.

“Tonight each one of your has written a check; you’re going to write more” the former governor said as his wife of 37 years, Ann, stood beside him. “Don’t worry about the national polls at this point. They don’t mean anything. The polls that count are what are happening in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, those early states, among Republican voters. That’s where we’re aiming right now. And slowly but surely we’re going to be building our strength there.”

Early presidential polling shows Romney, a venture capitalist who served just one term as Massachusetts governor, trailing better-known rivals Sen. John McCain and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani.

The aggressive fundraising – Romney may spend up to a third of his time collecting checks before March 31 – could buy him name recognition and perhaps some early advertising. March 31 is the first filing deadline for presidential candidates.