(CNN) — Mitt Romney made Iowa state fund-raising history Tuesday evening by bringing in between $1.8 and $2 million at an event in West Des Moines, a Romney aide confirmed.
“Because of your participation and your presence here tonight, this event, in this room at this time is the largest and most successful presidential fundraiser we have ever had in the history of the state of Iowa,” David Oman, Romney’s Iowa state chair, told a crowd of supporters.
Romney, whose campaign organization has out-raised President Barack Obama’s for the past three months, spoke to roughly 280 top dollar donors at a country club in West Des Moines. Tickets for the event ranged from $2,000 to $50,000.
The presumptive GOP nominee talked about the Iowa State Fair, which opens this weekend, the state’s intense drought and the Sikh temple shooting in Wisconsin.
Earlier Tuesday in Chicago, Romney asked a crowd in Illinois for a moment of silence to pay respect to the victims of the incident last weekend.
Romney also talked about his recently unveiled five-step economic recovery plan at the fund-raiser.
In attendance were some of Iowa’s top politicos, including Rep. Steve King; Matt Strawn, former Iowa Republican Party chairman; Kyle Krause, owner of Kum & Go convenience store chain; as well as a large contingent of Iowa senators and representatives. Gov. Terry Brandstad and Sen. Chuck Grassley, who were both honorary co-chairs of the event, were not in attendance due to schedule conflicts.
Obama will also travel to Iowa next week for a three-day tour, visiting seven cities between Monday and Wednesday.
Iowa launched Obama’s presidential bid in 2008 after he won the state’s first-in-the-nation caucus. Iowa later handed him a 10-point victory over Republican opponent Sen. John McCain in the general election.
The state is seen as a toss up between incumbent Obama and Romney, each polling at 44% in a NBC News/Marist poll conducted in May.
CNN’s Alex Mooney contributed to this report
