[6] Romney was coming off a successful stint as head of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games of 2002[2] and was also mentioned as a possible candidate for Governor of Utah.

[2][4] Massachusetts Republican State Committee chair Kerry Healey had flown to Utah to personally assess Romney's intentions.

[15] In February, Swift named Patrick Guerriero, her deputy chief of staff, as her running mate after multiple others, including Christy Mihos, declined.

[17] After Romney entered the race he selected Kerry Healey, former chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party, to be his running mate.

[2] Reich's candidacy attracted considerable media attention, especially due to the 1997 publication of his memoir of working for the Clinton administration, Locked in the Cabinet.

Reich had received criticism for embellishing events with invented dialogue, and the book had so angered Bill Clinton that he endorsed Grossman instead.

Before the primaries concluded, Democratic officials claimed that Romney was ineligible to run for governor, citing residency issues.

"[4] He said he was "not a partisan Republican" but rather a "moderate" with "progressive" views[32] Romney declared support for faith-based initiatives[2] and campaigned as a pro-choice candidate who would protect a woman's right to an abortion.

While saying she would not criticize his membership in the LDS Church, she attacked his substantial donations to Brigham Young University, objecting to their bar on expressions of homosexuality.

[2] Romney had stumbled earlier in the year by not knowing that "MCAS" stood for the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System of school exams.

[2] To soften Romney's image, a series of "work days" had been staged over the summer, in which he performed blue-collar jobs such as herding cows and baling hay, unloading a fishing boat, and hauling garbage.

[2][38][35][39] Television ads highlighting the effort, as well as one portraying his family in gushing terms and showing him shirtless,[38] received a poor public response.

[4][39] O'Brien's campaign was hobbled by the short amount of time between the primary and the general election and by her having exhausted most of her funds by spending $4.5 million to win the nomination.

[41] Jill Stein campaigned against requiring that students pass the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests to graduate high school and in support of clean air and bilingual education.

[55] Ten years later, Romney and Stein ran against each other in the 2012 U.S. presidential election, with both losing to incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama.