Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney addresses the Rotary Club at the Red Hook Ale brewery in Portsmouth, N.H., Thursday, July 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Cheryl Senter)
Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney works the crowd as he marches in the Fourth of July parade in Amherst, N.H., on July 4, 2011. (Associated Press)
** FILE ** In this May 27, 2011, file photo former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney heads to his car after speaking at the Mediacom 2012 Presidential Candidate Series in Des Moines, Iowa. The accelerating GOP presidential campaigns in Iowa probably will define front-runner Romney’s chief challengers over the next six weeks and could oblige him to reconsider his decision to mount only modest efforts in this early voting state. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney talks to reporters Thursday at the Allentown Metal Works, Inc., manufacturing plant in Allentown, Pa. He blamed its closure on the “Obama economy.” But some politicians and business leaders disputed the direct correlation.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who is running for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, meets with employees at Lincoln Financial in Concord, N.H., on Monday, June 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (right) and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich share a laugh and acknowledge the audience before the first New Hampshire Republican presidential debate at St. Anselm College in Manchester on Monday. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota (left), officially declared her candidacy during the evening. (Associated Press)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican presidential hopeful, talks with a woman eating breakfast at the counter of a diner as they are surrounded by photographers and reporters during a campaign stop in Derry, N.H., on Tuesday. Many of the GOP candidates took advantage of campaigning in the state after Monday evening's Republican presidential debate.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican presidential hopeful, talks with a woman eating breakfast at the counter of a diner as they are surrounded by photographers and reporters during a campaign stop in Derry, N.H., on Tuesday. Many of the GOP candidates took advantage of campaigning in the state after Monday evening's Republican presidential debate.
From left, former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania; Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia; former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney; Rep. Ron Paul of Texas; former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty; and businessman Herman Cain greet the audience before first New Hampshire Republican presidential debate, at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., Monday. (Associated Press)
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney meets with entrepreneurs in Detroit on Thursday. He also was picketed by auto workers near there. (Associated Press)
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney meets with Krysalis Fit CEO Jennine Hynes at Bizdom University in Detroit on Thursday. Bizdom is a business development center to help people in Michigan. It provides real-world training, mentorship and support for entrepreneurs. (Associated Press)
** FILE ** In this Jan. 15, 2008, file photo, Republican presidential hopeful former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks to supporters after winning the Michigan primary in Southfield, Mich. Romney makes his first campaign swing through Michigan this week since officially kicking off his 2012 campaign six days ago. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
RUNNING: Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney announces his candidacy for president on Thursday at Bittersweet Farm in Stratham, N.H. Analysts say his Mormon faith remains a stumbling block, as it was in his 2008 campaign, especially among evangelical Christians influential in the GOP. (Associated Press)
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, accompanied by his wife, Ann, arrives in Stratham, N.H., on Thursday, June 2, 2011, to announce his candidacy for the presidency in 2012. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)
** FILE ** Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney smiles during an interview with the Associated Press in Columbia, S.C., in August 2007. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain, File)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
For former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, neighboring New Hampshire could make or break his GOP presidential campaign, which kicks off Thursday.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has backed away from his earlier embrace of "cap-and-trade" programs to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and his earlier support of abortion rights, gun control and gay rights. (Associated Press)
** FILE ** Approximately 100 sex-abuse victims and their supporters march on Sunday, Feb. 29, 2004, in Boston from the Cathedral of the Holy Cross to the Massachusetts Statehouse to urge Gov. Mitt Romney to appoint a clergy-abuse task force to oversee the church in Massachusetts. (AP Photo/Chitose Suzuki)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, a 2012 Republican presidential candidate, will deliver a major speech Thursday at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center. The center is part of UM's medical school, where researchers are "vigorously" pursuing stem cell research.
Associated Press photographs
Polls in New Hampshire show former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is the man to beat in the first-in-the-nation Republican primary, despite the reservations of some grass-roots activists in the Granite State.