If US presidential candidate John McCain selects Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts governor and founder of the private equity firm Bain Capital, as his running mate, it could bring scrutiny to the private equity sector, according to the US political newspaper The Politico.
Last year’s Congressional inquiries of private equity could “go national” if McCain taps Romney to join him on the Republican ticket. Romney, who was himself a presidential hopeful until dropping out of the race in February, spent 15 years in private equity and made about $250 million, according to The Politico.
“There’s no doubt it will come up,” Mark Mellman, a political strategist, told The Politico. “This is an economy where people are on edge about things like downsizing and getting laid off and here’s a guy who has wielded that knife.”