Romney has spent considerable time traveling to early voting states such as Iowa and New Hampshire, and sprinkled campaign cash across the country from a so-called leadership PAC used by presidential aspirants.

Romney, who was elected governor by casting himself as a social moderate, has also distanced himself from the liberal political culture in Massachusetts. He vetoed a bill to expand emergency contraception — the veto was later overridden — and campaigned against a 2003 ruling by Massachusetts' highest court that made the state the first in the nation to allow same-sex couples to wed.

He has also been emphasizing socially conservative positions on issues like embryonic stem cell research and the death penalty — positions that seem more likely to appeal to the Christian conservatives who are influential voters in Republican presidential primaries.

On abortion, Romney has reframed his views. During an unsuccessful bid in 1994 for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's seat, Romney said abortion should be "safe and legal." But last summer, he wrote an opinion article in The Boston Globe saying he did not believe that abortion should be legal.

And although he became governor with a reputation as a concerned environmentalist, Romney has, in recent months, moved to the right on such issues as drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge.

He also changed positions on a regional pact among nine Northeastern states to reduce greenhouse gases. Saying he supported cleaning up power plant emissions only if it did not hurt the economy, Romney demanded price controls and other changes that the other states could not accept.

During an October speech to a Washington think tank, Romney cast himself as "a red speck in a blue state."

Analysts said Romney's business background and telegenic qualities make him politically appealing, while his changes of position on issues like abortion and his LDS faith, are his vulnerabilities.

"If he can get past the evangelical and ideological problems, then he'll be a very formidable candidate," Rothenberg said.

Julian Zelizer, a history professor at Boston University, concurred.

"I think he has a very strong chance," Zelizer said. "He is a conservative from a blue state, and he offers Republicans territory they are not typically able to capture."

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Contributing: Pam Belluck, New York Times News Service