President Bush officially became a candidate for reelection today by registering his campaign with the Federal Election Commission, the White House said.
The headquarters will be in Northern Virginia, likely in Arlington, but a lease has not been signed, officials said. The papers were filed at 10:49 a.m.
"The president is focused on the business at hand, including growing the economy and pursuing the war on terror, but he understands these steps must be taken from a legal point of view," White House communications director Dan Bartlett said. "The whole process and focus on politics is not on the president's mind."
Preparations for the campaign have long been underway but the plans have been closely held by a few aides close to Bush. The White House said Bush made the decision about the launch date on Thursday, after a briefing on campaign preparations by senior adviser Karl Rove and others.
The announcement allows supporters of Bush and Vice President Cheney to begin implementing their plan to shatter all records by raising as much as $250 million for the race. "The main reason for starting now is to get going on fundraising," a Republican official said.
A fund-raising mailing will go out as soon as Monday, and Bush is likely to hold his first fund-raising event next month. The announcement comes the day after Bush achieved a major victory on Capitol Hill, persuading the Senate to pass a version of his plan to eliminate the tax on stock dividends.
"Politics is always about timing, and this is a propitious time," a senior Republican said.
The Republican National Committee announced that White House political director Ken Mehlman will be the campaign manager. Mercer Reynolds, who was Bush's ambassador to Switzerland and Lichtenstein until March, will be the finance chairman. Jack Oliver, deputy chairman of the RNC, will be deputy finance chairman and will also have broad strategic responsibilities.
RNC Chairman Marc Racicot is likely to be the campaign chairman but that was not announced today, as Bush's team is still settling on his successor.
The campaign has always been a question of when, not if. For instance, Bush made it clear immediately after the midterm elections in November that Cheney would be on his ticket again.
Preliminary plans for the campaign called for Bush to begin raising money as early as March, but that was postponed as war with Iraq loomed. White House officials said they saw distinct advantages to putting off the formal launch of the campaign, since it kept Bush above the fray of the Democrats' nominating contest. And these officials said that his formal status as a candidate could complicate negotiations with Capitol Hill.
Many party officials were eager to launch the race so they could get started on fund-raising. The nation's new campaign finance law remains partly in effect despite a court challenge, including the doubling -- to $2,000 -- of the amount an individual can give directly to a campaign. So GOP officials say that qualifying for Bush's elite group of fund-raisers, the Pioneers, will require raising $200,000 or more instead of the then-eye-popping $100,00 that was the ticket to admission for the 2000 race.
Staff writer Jim VandeHei contributed to this report.
