Romney formally announces US presidential candidacy

Mitt Romney officially entered the 2008 US presidential race today, a former Republican governor of the state of Massachusetts suggesting that his record of leadership inside and outside government uniquely positions him to tackle challenges facing the United States.

“I declare my intention to run for president of the United States,” Romney said in remarks prepared for delivery as he formally opened a candidacy that, if fruitful, would make him the first Mormon president, a church founded in the United States in 1830.