Governor to assume high-profile chair

Governor Mitt Romney launches a new phase of his political career today when he travels to California to become chairman of the Republican Governors Association, a high-profile but potentially high-risk role that could color his presidential chances in 2008.

The chairmanship of the RGA, whose primary task is to get GOP governors elected nationwide, offers a useful vehicle for Romney's presidential aspirations, but it comes with potential pitfalls: His stock could rise or fall depending on how Republican candidates fare in next year's elections.

Romney's trip will take him away from Massachusetts for nearly a week, as the state awaits his announcement on whether he will run for reelection. The governor has been under fire from Democrats for spending too much time out of state.

While in California, Romney is expected to attend up to three non-RGA political events, including one fund-raiser with Orange County Republicans, who could help finance a future run for president. Romney has also installed a new executive director of the RGA as he seeks to build a broader political network.

Over the next year, the RGA chairmanship will allow Romney to expand his political contacts and build name recognition among Republican activists, voters, donors, and the media in key states around the country.

''He's going to be introduced to people who have not yet met him who presumably will be impressed with him -- impressed with his energy and pizazz and political sex appeal," said Stuart Rothenberg, editor and publisher of the Rothenberg Political Report, an influential nonpartisan newsletter based in Washington, D.C. ''These are significant assets."

To illustrate potential benefits, Rothenberg posed this scenario: Iowa Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Nussle wins the primary and goes on, with RGA assistance, to win the governor's race; Nussle, in turn, is indebted to Romney and returns the favor during the presidential race in Iowa, which holds the first caucus.

But where there are opportunities, there are risks.

Romney will oversee efforts to get Republicans elected in 36 gubernatorial races at a time when the GOP, coming off losses in governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey, faces several challenges -- including fissures over how to fight the war in Iraq and the war on terror.

Whether it's fair or not, Rothenberg said, Romney could be liable politically if Republicans lose seats.

''At the end of the day," he said, ''if there's a net loss of Republican governors, somebody is going to say, 'Well, look at Mitt Romney.' "

But former Virginia governor Jim Gilmore, who was RGA chairman in 1999, said such losses would not have a big impact on Romney politically.

''I don't think it splashes back on the RGA," said Gilmore, now an attorney in Washington with the firm Kelley Drye & Warren.

Gilmore said of being chairman, ''I don't think there's any downside, but there's a lot of upsides because you get to know people of great prominence with their own political organization."

This year's RGA conference, held at the La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., begins tomorrow and lasts through Friday, when the group puts on its ''salute to the new chairman" by hosting a Massachusetts clambake.

Romney spokeswoman Julie Teer said in an e-mail that the governor is honored to take over the RGA, but that ''Governor Romney's first focus will always be his job as governor and the people of Massachusetts."

The location of the RGA conference is fortuitous for Romney, who has been to California at least three times already this year and has built an important fund-raising base in nearby Orange County. Tonight, Romney will be the special guest at a $300-a-person fund-raiser in Newport Beach for Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, who is up for reelection next year.

Adam D. Probolsky, a Republican pollster in California, called Romney a ''superstar in the GOP" who will benefit from being in front of hundreds of major donors.

''And when you're looking at a national run or being talked about for a national run, it's always good to make relationships with those people," he said.

Scott Helman can be reached at shelman@globe.com.