Mitt Romney Stops in Irvine on Way to Century City, Jay Leno Visit

Not everyone was happy to see Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney visiting the Southland Tuesday during the second day of Southern California visit.

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Nearly 100 demonstrators met the former Massachusetts governor outside the Century Plaza Hotel, where he was holding a fundraiser. Overlapping groups showed up at the rally, including Dream Act supporters, labor, Democratic Party activists, and representatives from the Occupy movement.

They made the case that Romney, who was expected to raise about $1 million Tuesday night, wasa a creature of and beholden to the 1 percent, a term used to dub the top wage earners in the U.S.

An appearance on "The Tonight Show" and fundraisers in Irvine and Century City were on Romney's schedule Tuesday during the second day of his Southern California visit.

Apart from his interview on the "Tonight Show," Romney's four appearances on his California trip were all private fundraisers.

Romney started the day in Stockton before heading to a noon fundraiser in the gated Shady Canyon community (pictured) of Irvine. Tickets begin at $1,000 and -- for an extra $1,500 -- donors can get a picture with the former Massachusetts governor.

Later Tuesday, Romney stopped by Burbank for a "Tonight Show" appearance. The appearance will be Romney's first on a late-night talk show since announcing his run for president on the "Late Show with David Letterman" in December.

Romney has been Jay Leno's guest three times, but this will be his first visit since 2010.

The visit comes as the Supreme Court considers President Barack Obama's health care mandate that requires most Americans buy insurance or pay a penalty. Romney began his two-day California visit Monday in San Diego with an attack on the national health care law when he visited NuVasive, a company located about 10 miles northeast of La Jolla, where Romney owns a home.

The company makes devices designed to improve spinal care.

"An extra trillion dollars in spending, we were told it would be an extra trillion, now we're told by the (Congressional Budget Office) it's more like $2 trillion,'' Romney said at NuVasive. "And then they said it would cut the cost of health insurance -- in fact, it has increased the cost of health insurance."

Romney, who stood in front of a banner that read "Repeal and Replace Obamacare," is often criticized for enacting similar legislation in Massachusetts. He has characterized that decision as a state solution for a state problem, not a sweeping federal overhaul.

Republican candidate Rick Santorum is expected to visit California later this week.

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