Tampabay.com
MARCH 21, 2007

Blankenship jumps off Romney ship

Richard Blankenship, a top GOP fundraiser from the Jacksonville area and former ambassador to the Bahamas, is stepping off Mitt Romney's Florida finance team, and the Buzz is he's about to hop aboard the Rudy Giuliani express.

In a letter to the Romney campaign, he called Mitt and Ann Romney "wonderful people," but said he had become "uncomfortable" supporting the campaign and that Republicans needed a candidate with broad appeal across America.

Blankenship has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Bushes, has personally given tens of thousands to the GOP efforts, and has frequently loaned his Cessna for campaign trips.

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