Mass. Gov. Romney to seek second term

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BOSTON, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican thought to be interested in a run for president, said he will seek re-election to his current post in 2006.

Romney, a successful Republican politician in a state known as a bastion of the Democrat Party, was elected governor of Massachusetts in 2002 after serving as president of the Salt Lake Olympic Committee for 2002 Winter Games. He took 50 percent of the vote in the 2002 general election while his Democratic opponent finished with 45 percent.

The governor said potential Democratic opponents were spreading rumors he would not run to enhance their own fundraising efforts. At a civic event Wednesday, Romney said, regarding a run for governor, "I'm not making an official announcement until the time comes but plan on me being there."

Political analysts in Massachusetts told the Boston Globe Romney needs the governorship to start a presidential campaign and that likely lies behind the run for re-election.

Romney, 57, is the son of former Michigan Gov. George Romney. He attended Brigham Young University in Utah before moving to law school and business school at Harvard in the mid-1970s. He stayed in the Boston area after graduating and founded an investment capital company.