Committee promotes Romney record

Governor Mitt Romney's national fund-raising operation sent a mass mailing to Republican Party leaders and elected officials in 17 states this month, offering help in their 2006 campaigns and highlighting his conservative stands on issues from taxes to same-sex marriage.

The June 1 mailing, the first by Romney's Commonwealth PAC since November, is part of the governor's effort to package his Massachusetts positions for more conservative Republicans beyond the state's borders. If Romney runs for president in 2008, he will have to prove his conservative bona fides to GOP primary voters who may be wary of his Bay State pedigree.

''As the friends and supporters who have helped Governor Romney succeed in Massachusetts, we are proud of his successes and committed to helping Republicans across the nation compete and win on the battlefield of ideas," the letter to South Carolina Republicans states. ''We look forward to staying in touch as you continue to provide leadership and hard work on behalf of the Republican Party in South Carolina."

Even though Romney says he hasn't decided whether to run for president, he has been busy laying the foundation for a campaign. In 2004, the Massachusetts governor strengthened his national network of supporters by handing out campaign money in key primary states, and since the election he has traveled to crucial states such as South Carolina and Michigan to speak to Republican activists. In recent months, he has taken a more conservative stand on stem cell research and suggested he is moving toward firmer opposition to abortion, both stances that could help him in GOP presidential primaries.

A Romney administration official confirmed yesterday that after attending his 40th high-school reunion in Michigan last weekend, the governor spent Monday huddling with leading Republicans in that state, including big GOP donors. Romney's father, George, who ran for president in 1968, was governor of Michigan, and the state would be crucial to the younger Romney's campaign if he seeks the White House. The conservative columnist Robert D. Novak reported Romney's meetings with Michigan GOP leaders yesterday.

One Romney strategist said that at this stage, the governor is aiming at three audiences: GOP activists, Washington-based reporters and interest groups, and money-raisers. Today, Romney heads to California to deliver a speech at the Orange County GOP's Flag Day dinner, which is expected to raise about $300,000.

The letter from the Commonwealth PAC, obtained by the Globe yesterday, boasts that since July 2004, the group has donated about $220,000 to 225 candidates and party organizations in 17 states. All of them have received or will receive the letter, according to Trent Wisecup, director of the Commonwealth PAC. Wisecup, whose name appears on the letter along with that of state GOP chairman Darrell Crate, works with Romney strategist Michael E. Murphy.

The letter offers carefully worded descriptions of some of Romney's positions to play up his conservatism. For example, it highlights his opposition to the ''human cloning" provision of the stem cell bill the Legislature recently approved, without noting that Romney himself supports research on surplus embryos from fertility clinics, which antiabortion groups oppose.

''Over the objections of Harvard University, Senator Ted Kennedy, and the Democrats in the Massachusetts Legislature, Governor Romney announced that he would veto any stem cell research legislation that authorizes human cloning," the letter states. The Legislature overturned Romney's veto, approving a law that bans reproductive cloning, or the creation of babies, but allows scientists to produce embryos for research.

The letter says Romney is pushing the Legislature to adopt tougher welfare rules, without saying that Massachusetts probably will be forced to make some changes once its federal waiver expires in October. It also cites Romney's support for an income tax cut, charter schools, the death penalty, and sex education that emphasizes abstinence.

''He's a very active governor who has a very bold agenda, and he works very hard on it in Massachusetts," Wisecup said. ''He is somebody who is looked upon as a leader in his party, and it's not unusual for leaders in their party to help other Republicans. That in no way distracts from what he's doing in Massachusetts."

Wisecup said the letter plays up Romney's conservative positions because ''he's a Republican, and he's a conservative Republican, and the party tends to be interested in those types of issues."

Rick Beltram, chairman of the Spartanburg County, S.C., Republican Party, said activists in his state are still buzzing about Romney's speech there last February.

''Clearly, he's being talked about more than anyone else. He's been down here, made a great presentation, been on live TV and helped all of the county parties," Beltram said of Romney.

Scott Greenberger can be reached at greenberger@globe.com.