what state did romney governor?
Massachusetts
entailment
 During the election , Romney contributed more than $ 6 million – a state record at the time – to the nearly $ 10 million raised for his campaign overall . On November 5 , 2002 , he won the governorship , earning 50 percent of the vote to O 'Brien 's 45 percent . 

entailment
 Former Congressman and Republican National Committee chair Leonard W. Hall became Romney 's informal campaign manager . A Gallup Poll after the November elections showed Romney as favored among Republicans over former Vice President Richard Nixon for the Republican nomination , 39 percent to 31 percent ; a Harris Poll showed Romney besting President Johnson among all voters by 54 percent to 46 percent . Nixon considered Romney his chief opponent . Romney announced an exploratory phase for a possible campaign in February 1967 , beginning with a visit to Alaska and the Rocky Mountain states . 

entailment
 Following his term as Governor of Massachusetts in 2007 , Romney was the Republican Party 's nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 election . He won the 2012 Republican presidential nomination , becoming the first Mormon to be a major party presidential nominee . He was defeated by incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 2012 general election , losing by 332 – 206 electoral college votes . The popular vote margin was 51 – 47 percent in Obama 's favor . Following the election , he initially kept a low profile , and later became more visible politically . 

neutral
 Romney filed to register a presidential campaign committee with the Federal Election Commission on his penultimate day in office as governor . His term ended January 4 , 2007 . 

entailment
 Romney formally announced on November 18 , 1967 , at Detroit 's Veterans Memorial Building , that he had " decided to fight for and win the Republican nomination and election to the Presidency of the United States . " His subsequent release of his federal tax returns – twelve years ' worth going back to his time as AMC head – was groundbreaking and established a precedent that many future presidential candidates would have to contend with . He spent the following months campaigning tirelessly , focusing on the New Hampshire primary , the first of the season , and doing all the on @-@ the @-@ ground activities known to that state : greeting workers at factory gates before dawn , having neighborhood meetings in private homes , and stopping at bowling alleys . He returned to Vietnam in December 1967 and made speeches and proposals on the subject , one of which presaged Nixon 's eventual policy of Vietnamization . For a while , he got an improved response from voters . 
