John McCain, the Republicans' pick for president, will get a little help at a Salt Lake fundraiser today from a former rival — Utah's "favorite son" candidate, Mitt Romney.

Romney, who dropped his own bid for the White House after a disappointing finish in last month's Super Tuesday elections, will be at the Arizona senator's private fundraiser being held in the Grand America Hotel downtown.

It will be the first time the two candidates have appeared together since Romney endorsed McCain on Feb. 14 and could provide an opportunity for the pair to discuss the vice presidency.

Romney has been mentioned as a potential running mate for McCain and told Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes" earlier this month he would be "honored" to be chosen for the No. 2 spot on the ballot.

Kirk Jowers, a longtime Romney supporter and the head of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics, said the joint appearance will help McCain win over Utahns still upset over seeing their preferred candidate knocked out of the running.

"Romney's attending this McCain event will have a huge impact on people healing from the primary contest and ultimately being able to accept McCain instead of Romney as the GOP nominee," Jowers said.

The latest Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV poll shows that Utahns are beginning to come around to McCain. Fifty-four percent said they would vote for McCain if the election were held now, nearly twice as many as in a poll taken last month.

Compare that to Romney, the former head of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and, like the majority of Utahns, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who won the state's GOP presidential primary on Feb. 5 with an unheard-of 90 percent of the vote.

More important to McCain's fund-raising efforts today, Romney collected more than $6 million from Utahns compared to the $177,000 the state's residents gave McCain. Seeing Romney side-by-side with McCain could significantly boost that total.

But that's a sight that likely will only be seen by Utahns willing to pay $1,000 to attend today's lunch — or $2,300, the maximum allowable campaign contribution, to also attend a reception with the Arizona senator — since the fund-raiser is closed to the press and the public.

McCain, who will be in Utah only about three hours today, hopes to raise $375,000.

There is apparently concern Romney's popularity here could overshadow McCain, so it's not clear what role Romney will play at the event — even though it was McCain's campaign that sought out his support.