Mitt Romney backs Gov. Gary Herbert during fundraising visit

SALT LAKE CITY — Mitt Romney was only in Utah for a few hours Tuesday to raise money for his political action committee, but he squeezed in a public endorsement for fellow Republican Gov. Gary Herbert.

And Romney also backed the governor's stand against limiting campaign contributions, a key issue in this year's special gubernatorial election because of questions raised about the influence of contributions to Herbert on the award of state contracts.

During a news conference that lasted just over 10 minutes, Romney said he is working for Herbert and other GOP candidates nationwide "to underscore how important it is to hold fast to conservative values."

Later, Romney hosted a private reception where Utahns paid as much as $2,500 apiece to mingle with the 2008 presidential candidate and former leader of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Herbert, the top-billed host of the event, stood beside Romney and urged him to take another run at the White House in 2012. Romney said he and his family won't make that decision until after the November election.

"I'm not sure when we'll make the decision. It may be weeks after and it may be months later," Romney said. In 2008, he won the Utah GOP primary with a whopping 90 percent of the vote but lost the nomination to Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Romney also was careful not to comment on the Utah race, which has focused in recent weeks on the $87,500 Herbert received from the winning bidders for a contract on the $1.7 billion reconstruction of I-15 through Utah County.

"I don't know that anyone has come up with a good way to solve the impact of money in politics," Romney said when asked what should be done to avoid questions being raised about the effect of large contributions.

Citing the "extraordinary clout" that union bosses can have in political races, Romney said the way to shift that power is for candidates to fully disclosure their contributions.

"On the basis of sunshine, we'll be able to get the best visibility and holding to the values that we consider having integrity," Romney said.

A former governor of Massachusetts, Romney said that state's campaign contribution limits weren't "very effective there. I haven't seen them anywhere as being very effective."

Romney avoided answering directly a question about his support for the Mormon Church's position on same-sex attraction, saying he did not discuss his faith in the public arena.