Mitt Romney

The dust has barely settled on the 2008 elections -- in fact, in a few Senate and House contests, ballots are still being counted -- but possible presidential contenders are already building foundations they will need to put them ahead of the pack in time for the 2012 Iowa caucuses, a scant 38 months away. For Republicans, the early key to success is holding a governorship, and at least half a dozen chief executives are expected to at least consider a bid for president.

MANCHESTER--Bucking polls that show John McCain with a double-digit deficit to Barack Obama, former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said that he thinks the race in New Hampshire is "very, very close."

"I'm seeing other polls, of course we all rely on the polls we like best, I'm seeing polls that our done by our campaigns that show this is a very, very close race," Romney told reporters  after visiting Oven Poppers. "I don't think it's very easy for pollsters this time to judge just whose going to vote, how they're going to vote."

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Doug Kruse, Jeb Bradley and Mitt Romney

MANCHESTER-- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney campaigned at a local business for various Republican candidates.

The Republican presidential primary runner-up talked to workers at Oven Poppers about the importance of electing Doug Kruse (R-Manchester) to the state senate and former U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro) to the U.S. House.

If you are a former Massachusetts Republican governor, there is a good chance you will be campaigning in New Hampshire tomorrow.

Both Gov. Jane Swift and Gov. Mitt Romney will be campaigning in the Granite State.

Now that it’s clear that Sarah Palin, on the whole, has been more of a liability than an asset to John McCain, the following question becomes almost irresistible: What if McCain had picked someone else?

“I think the dynamics would be different in Pennsylvania,” that state’s former governor, Tom Ridge, acknowledged a few days ago when asked how the G.O.P. might have fared had he been part of it. “I think we’d be foolish not to admit it publicly.”

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Former Gov. Bill Weld said Monday that the national Republican Party is "playing on a smaller field" and that he may have been more inclined to endorse Republican presidential nominee John McCain had he selected fellow former Bay State Gov. Mitt Romney as his running mate.

Weld, who endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama last week, appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe Monday morning, shortly after Romney also appeared on the show. Weld endorsed Romney during his presidential run this year and was immediately asked if he thought McCain should have tapped Romney as his running mate.

"Well that would have been a running start," Weld said. "I think what Mitt Romney and Barack Obama have in common, and not too many people would see a common thread there, I think they both process a lot of new information and respond to conditions on the ground."

"Of course the thing I loved about Gov. Romney is he knows so much about the economy," he added.

Former Gov. Mitt Romney blasted Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's plan for the economy Monday morning, suggesting that it would push the country further into a recession.

"There is no question," Romney said on MSNBC's Morning Joe, "that Barack Obama's economic plans would prolong a recession, make it more difficult for us to come out of a recession, and make life a lot tougher for Americans."

The former governor, a frequent surrogate for Republican presidential nominee John McCain on economic issues, was also asked about Obama's remark about "spreading the wealth around" that the McCain campaign has used in several recent ads.

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Mitt Romney

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, a top contender for the Republican nomination for president this year, sent out an e-mail on behalf of Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Auburn) Friday, asking supporters to contribute to Reichert's campaign.

"I have to admit, it is good to be on the campaign trail again," Romney says in the e-mail. "I have never been one to sit around, and I cannot do so when there are conservative leaders like Dave Reichert that need our assistance."

Romney was a popular candidate here in Washington, where he earned 15 percent of the vote in the state's caucuses and 16 percent of the vote in the presidential primary despite having already dropped out of the race.