Romney's message on the stump often carries echoes of Reagan, who died in 2004.

Consider the acceptance speech Reagan gave in July 1980 after he won the Republican nomination for president.

"Never before in our history have Americans been called upon to face three grave threats to our very existence," Reagan said, warning that the United States was spending beyond its means, facing unprecedented danger from Soviet communism, and maintaining an unhealthy dependence on foreign oil.

And yet, Reagan voiced optimism: "There are no words to express the extraordinary strength and character of this breed of people we call Americans."

Compare those remarks to Romney's in July of this year, at a GOP luncheon in Ames, Iowa.

"We're under attack from jihadists, we're spending way too much money — way more money than we're taking in — (and) we're using way too much oil," Romney said, asserting that the American people were up to the test. "We face some real challenges ... but we will rise to the occasion, as we always do."

He added, "I love America and what it stands for. I will fight for it, as you will."

Romney's evolution on abortion mirrors Reagan's, too: Like Reagan, Romney once expressed support for abortion rights but became solidly anti-abortion as the presidential campaign neared.

And Romney has had help from a California humorist, Doug Gamble, who once wrote laugh lines for Reagan.

Jared Young, a spokesman for Romney's political action committee, the Commonwealth PAC, said Reagan is a worthy model. "He is a very optimistic leader, much like President Reagan was," he said.

Ed Rollins, a veteran Republican strategist who ran Reagan's 1984 reelection campaign, said that while he wouldn't necessarily call Romney an heir to Reagan, he did see a connection.

"He shares the same principles," Rollins said. "And Reagan was about three things when he ran ... lower taxes, less government, and national defense."

But some critics of Romney's record as governor say his tenure does not reflect a commitment to lower taxes and less government. They argue that Romney's administration - by raising many state fees, raising corporate taxes by closing loopholes, and implementing a new comprehensive healthcare program — has actually done the opposite.

Romney's views on national defense are less well known, and some political observers say his lack of foreign policy experience could be a liability, especially if the war in Iraq continues to dominate the headlines.

And Romney is hardly the only candidate to invoke Reagan in looking toward 2008. US Senator John McCain of Arizona, who, along with former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, could prove to be Romney's chief rival, gave two major speeches in Washington last week laced with references to the late president. In fact, McCain aides said they hoped the speeches would be reminiscent of an address Reagan delivered in the political vacuum after Republicans lost the White House in 1976.

But McCain, after bucking the party's right wing on immigration, taxes, and, most recently, the treatment of terrorism suspects, has not been a favorite of conservatives. So Romney, in an effort to position himself as the McCain alternative, has spent much of the past year trying to draw those voters to him.

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E-mail: shelman@globe.com.