Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney will formally announce on June 2 that he is running for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, an aide said.
Romney, 64, will make the announcement in Stratham, New Hampshire, aide Andrea Saul said. Romney, who served as Massachusetts governor from 2003 to 2007, unsuccessfully sought his party’s 2008 presidential nomination.
Republicans in New Hampshire traditionally are more politically moderate than their counterparts in Iowa, which holds the first caucus, and South Carolina, slated to vote after New Hampshire, according to the Naitonal Journal. The Granite State's electorate includes fewer religious conservatives skeptical of Romney's Mormonism and changes of heart on abortion and civil unions, which he now opposes.
Romney will visit Iowa for the first time this year on Friday. He was in South Carolina last week. His apparent strategy is to make periodic appearances in those two states with anticipated strong finishes in New Hampshire as well as Nevada and Florida, which vote after South Carolina.
Romney's formal entrance into the race almost certainly means he will participate in a CNN debate on June 13 in Manchester. He skipped the first Republican primary debate in South Carolina earlier this month.
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