Romney Files Paperwork for Presidential Exploratory Committee

John Daley ReportingSalt Lake's former Olympic boss, now governor of Massachusetts moved one significant step closer to becoming an official candidate for President today.

Romney's presidential ambitions were clear as far back as his days as head of Salt Lake Olympic Committee.

Today, the wheels are fully in motion with Romney filing official campaign committee papers in Washington.

Willard Romney is his formal name, but most Utahns know him better as Mitt, and he'll soon find out if he has the right stuff to be a serious presidential contender.

This is Romney's last day on the job as governor of Massachusetts after deciding not to run again. And today he filed paperwork to form a presidential exploratory committee, which allows him to raise and spend money.

People we talked with in Salt Lake today mostly have a favorable view of him.

Sara Robison: "I think he's charismatic. I'll give him that. And I think he's smart."

Vince Bayless: "I don't think he's that bad. It's hard to say because the only thing we know about him here is the Olympics."

Brett Vellinga: "I like Romney. He's looking really strong. Why? He's got a lot of experience in the political arena as well as he's got the morals to see this country through."

Pollster Dan Jones says Romney should clearly be considered in the top tier of the Big Three likely Republican candidates, along with John McCain and Rudy Giuliani.

Dan Jones: "He'll be viable. That doesn't mean he'll win. But he'll certainly be a major contender within the Republican Party and if he gets the nomination, to be the President of the United States."

And believe it or not, political junkies can already check out possible head-to-head horse races based on impossibly early polling. At Survey USA.com, Romney wins 18 states but gets swamped by Hillary Clinton. He fares even worse against John Edwards, winning just Idaho and Utah. By comparison, John McCain beats Hillary handily.

Of course the election is still two years away...a political eternity, as they say.

Romney has been building his profile in preparation of a presidential run for months. He was outside of Massachusetts making visits to key states and overseas for more than half the days last year.

We asked Utahns specifically how they thought Romney's religious affiliation would impact his chances. Those exclusive poll results tonight at 10:00.

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