Romney files official papers to get on N.H. primary ballot

CONCORD, N.H. - Mitt Romney took the symbolic, time-honored step yesterday of filing his official papers to put his name on the primary ballot in New Hampshire, a state that will play a huge role in his presidential ambitions.

Romney told reporters he was "thrilled to be sitting in the seat my father sat in some 40-odd years ago," referring to George Romney, who unsuccessfully contested the 1968 GOP presidential nomination.

"I intend to follow his footsteps to a point," Romney said. "And the point is that I plan on winning the campaign."

Romney, the governor of neighboring Massachusetts for four years, has seen his lead in the New Hampshire polls narrow over the last month, as Rudy Giuliani and John McCain surge and spend more time in the state.

But as he filed yesterday, Romney received a boost from the endorsement of arguably the most successful politician in New Hampshire history.

"If you would have said that I would endorse a former governor of Massachusetts, I wouldn't believe you," US Senator Judd Gregg told 100 supporters at a rally on the steps of the state library. "But then again, I wouldn't believe that the Red Sox would ever win two World Series in my lifetime, either."

Gregg, son of a beloved former governor, has never lost an election. Since the 1980s, Judd Gregg has been an executive councilor, US representative, and governor, and is in his third Senate term.

Romney also pledged to protect the state's traditional first-in-the-nation presidential primary, which this time around will be Jan. 8 at the latest. "If I am the nominee, I will do everything in my power to make sure Iowa and New Hampshire are first," he said.

JAMES W. PINDELL