When the telephone of an Iowa Republican rings these days, it just might be a Utah volunteer for GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney calling about Thursday's caucus vote there.

The Romney for President campaign has offices in Sandy and Provo, staffed with volunteers who spend much of their time on the phone with would-be voters in the early caucus and primary states.

Often they're asking for money, but as Iowa's first-in-the-nation vote nears, the focus is on making sure that state's Republicans are ready to brave what will likely be a very cold night Thursday and cast a vote for Romney at a neighborhood caucus.

"They call voters in Iowa and try to identify people who'll be voting for my dad so we can get them out to the caucuses," said Josh Romney, one of the candidate's five sons and the only one who lives in Utah.

Josh took time out from campaigning for his father in Iowa and other states last week to visit the Romney campaign office in Sandy, located near the South Towne Mall at 10150 S. Centennial Parkway.

"There's a lot of excitement," Josh said of the Utah offices, which the campaign has declared off-limits to reporters in an attempt to ensure that Romney's efforts to win Iowa votes stay secret.

Volunteers in the Sandy office, who had been told to expect a visit from Josh, greeted him with mementos and memories from the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City that were run by his father.

"What's great is we get a lot of those same people who volunteered for the Games, and for Utah, they're back volunteering for my dad," Josh said. "People brought me Olympic flags and pictures."

And they brought stories of meeting his father during the Olympics. "He shook so many hands and met so many people and interacted with so many people," Josh said. "They feel they know him."

Utahns do like Romney. Polls have shown residents of the Republican-dominated state by far favor him in the presidential race, and Utahns had contributed nearly $5 million to his campaign as of Sept. 30.

Money is still being raised, of course, including a push to bring in dollars to pay for television commercials in Iowa and other key early states, including New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida.

"People in Utah can have a huge impact making telephone calls around the country," Josh said, promising to keep volunteers busy at least through Feb. 5, the so-called "Super-Duper" Tuesday when more than 20 states vote — including Utah, California and New York.

Josh praised the commitment of Romney's volunteers across the country. Besides Utah, there are similar campaign offices up and running in Iowa, Nevada, Michigan and Florida. The campaign is headquartered in Boston.

"People are just so committed," Josh said. "That's what I think is going to help us out the most."

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