Mitt Romney isn’t the only candidate on the campaign trail with a large family—after all, Ron Paul boasts five kids, in addition to the 4,000 babies he delivered—but the GOP contender’s clan may take the prize for most picture-perfect. The family’s Christmas card shows all 28 attractive members, including 16 grandchildren sporting matching outfits: blue-gingham shirts for the boys, orange polka-dot dresses for the girls. Mitt’s five sons, all practicing Mormons who range in age from 33 to 41, played a starring role in his last presidential campaign, blogging from the trail and driving an RV dubbed the “Mitt Mobile” to all 99 counties in Iowa. They’ve been even more omnipresent this time around, boosting Romney’s “family man” clout. Romney’s wife, Ann, has also played a crucial role on the trail in recent months. Meet the Republican presidential frontrunner’s biggest supporters, plus see photos of the Romneys in action.
While Mitt Romney has recently been depicted as a greedy corporate titan from his days at Bain Capital (his latest “I like to fire people” comment fueled the fire), his wife Ann’s humble, working-class Welsh roots could help change her husband’s negative media image—and potentially bolster his bid to win the GOP presidential nomination. Ann’s grandfather, David Davies, was born into a family of coal miners in the late 19th century. Ultimately, he came to America for a better life and ended up working in a Ford car factory in Detroit. His son, Edward, went on to live the immigrant’s “American dream,” becoming an engineer cum entrepreneur who founded a successful transportation manufacturing company. He also served as the mayor of Detroit, which led Ann, 15, to start dating Mitt Romney, the boyishly handsome 18-year-old son of Michigan’s governor. After nearly 43 years of marriage, Ann and Mitt are seemingly more committed to one another than ever. When she was first lady of Massachusetts, Ann advocated for multiple sclerosis research—she was diagnosed in 1998. Mitt has mentioned his wife in practically every single GOP debate, while Ann is quick to defend her husband in the face of criticism. When the media teased Romney for referencing Kim Kardashian during an Iowa rally, Ann told Fox News she thought the joke “was pretty funny.” She stressed that the image of Romney as a cold-hearted corporate suit is all wrong. “The thing people don’t know about Mitt is that he likes to have fun.”
Win McNamee / Getty Images
Tagg, 41, quit his job to serve as senior adviser during his dad’s 2008 campaign. He currently runs his own private equity firm, Solamere Capital, with his father’s finance director, Spencer Zwick. Tagg and his wife, Jennifer, have five kids and live in Tagg’s hometown of Belmont, Mass.
Pat Wellenbach / AP Photo
All smiles after Mitt’s victory at the Iowa caucuses, Tagg and Ann join the man of the hour in a team huddle with senior adviser Ron Kaufman on their plane in Des Moines before taking off for New Hampshire.
Brian Snyder, Reuters / Landov
Matt, 40, is a commercial real=estate broker and lives in San Diego with his wife, Laurie, and their four children. According to the brothers, who spoke about their respective roles in their father’s campaign in a recent interview with The New York Times, Matt is the “cool one.” “Everyone in the country gives him advice,” Matt told the Times, “we’d like to give him advice, too, but we just have to bite our tongue.” He added that their “most important role” is to ease the tension before pressure-cooker moments (they often make their father watch funny YouTube videos before debates).
Denis Poroy / AP Photo
Matt flashes a toothy smile while shaking hands with Romney fans at the California State Republican party in 2008.
Brian Baer, Sacramento Bee / Getty Images
Josh, 36, a real-estate developer, lives in Salt Lake City with his wife, Jen, and their five children. In 2008 and 2009, he was mulling entering politics, contemplating a run for a House seat and lieutenant governor of Utah, eventually deciding against both. He famously drove the so-called Mitt Mobile to all 99 counties in Iowa. Marcus Branstad, the current governor of Iowa’s son who worked for the tour, told The Daily Beast that his goal on the road was to get a snapshot of Josh on top of something in every county they visited. His greatest accomplishment: the Mahaney Bell Tower in Jefferson.
Joe Kaleita / AP Photo
Craig, 33, and his wife, Mary, also live in San Diego with their two sons, moving there in 2009 from New York, where Craig worked as a music producer at an advertising agency. You may remember Craig’s youngest, Parker Mitt, now 4, from his many campaign events in 2008.
LM Otero / AP Photo
Mitt watches adoringly as Craig speaks Spanish to a crowd during a November campaign stop in Florida. Craig often speaks to Hispanic media on his father’s behalf.
Wilfredo Lee / AP Photo
Tagg, Craig, Josh, and Matt greet supporters in New Hampshire before the Iowa caucuses.
Alexander Cohn, Zuma / Newscom
At 33, Ben is the youngest of Romney’s sons. A medical resident in radiology, Ben practices at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City, where he lives with his wife, Andelynne, and their daughter. Though he campaigned for his father in 2008, Ben was noticeably absent from The New York Times interview with Romney’s other sons, who describe him as quiet and focused. The only brother with blonde hair, he bears the least resemblance to his father and is less outwardly charismatic than the others.
LM Otero / AP Photo
The Romneys: they’re just like us! At home, Mitt reaches for the bacon while enjoying a pancake breakfast with his wife and sons.
Boston Herald, Rapport Press / Newscom
