GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney may be in Utah again next month to raise campaign cash — and this time, he'll target donors who can't afford to write big checks.

His visit is part of a nationwide "Rally for Romney" effort announced Wednesday. Events are being held in more than 40 cities in 20 states through September. The Utah rally is set for Sept. 28 at the Salt Palace Convention Center, from 2 to 8 p.m.

Participants will be asked to call family and friends for smaller contributions, money that Romney told the Deseret Morning News is key to his campaign.

"I'll tell you, to raise the money you need to run for president, you've got to get donors who will write $100 checks or $50 checks to be part of your campaign," Romney said in a recent interview.

By midyear, Romney had collected more money than any other Republican presidential candidate — $44 million, including nearly $4 million from Utahns. The next federal reporting period for presidential contenders ends Sept. 30, shortly after the Salt Lake City event.

While his campaign could not confirm Wednesday that Romney will attend the Salt Lake rally, others on his staff have told the Morning News that he's scheduled to be there.

It would be the first time Utahns would be able to attend a Romney campaign fund-raiser in the state without giving the maximum allowable contribution of $2,300 or close to it. This year, Romney has collected big checks in Salt Lake City, St. George, Logan and Deer Valley.

But the problem with big-money donors, Romney said, is that "you run out of them. So I've got to broaden the base of my supporters to people who haven't given before and who are willing to write what to some are small checks but to them are large checks."

Utah is on Romney's list of fund-raising locations because he's a household name here after leading the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

"We've gotten great support in Utah," he said. "The three years in the Olympics made me better-known in Utah than probably anywhere besides Massachusetts," where he served a term as governor after the Olympics.

Utahns can sign up to attend the rally by calling 801-961-4070. For more information, go to the Internet at www.mittromney.com/rally.

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