Romney referred to a family meeting in December, which took place in Utah — he and his wife, Ann, have a vacation home at Deer Valley — where they discussed if he should run and why. All his children said he should do it.

"They know Ann and mine hearts. They know our values," Romney said. "They know my experience innovating and transforming, in business, in the Olympics, and in Massachusetts. And they know we love this country."

Romney, 59, who ran the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, is the fifth member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to run for president — a list that includes Romney's father.

"I believe in God and I believe that every person in this great country, and every person on this great planet, is a child of God," Romney said. "I believe we are all sisters and brothers."

The assembled crowd was led in prayer by a Lutheran minister before Romney took the stage.

Romney created an exploratory committee in January, which under Federal Election Commission rules allows a person considering running for president to "test the waters" from likely voters to see if there is any shot at winning. It also allows another made-for-media-moment for the candidate to move from the exploratory stage to becoming a candidate.

Tuesday's event, carried live on C-SPAN and news networks, had supporters clad in matching blue Michigan for Mitt T-shirts, Mitt Romney posters, a high school marching band and uniformed Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts who led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Romney is stretching his announcement moment as long as he can, making a speech in Iowa —home of the first presidential caucus in January 2008 — just hours after his speech in Michigan. He will hit South Carolina and host a town hall meeting New Hampshire on Wednesday before heading back to Boston for another event on Thursday.

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E-mail: suzanne@desnews.com