Former Massachusetts governor and 2008 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has formally announced his intention to run for the White House in next year's presidential election.
The multimillionaire businessman made the announcement during a speech in front of supporters at Bittersweet Farm, New Hampshire, this afternoon.
The 64-year-old is focusing his second bid for the White House on the economy and job creation as the country struggles to rebound from the worst downturn since the Great Depression.
The former venture capitalist, who co-founded Boston-based private equity firm Bain Capital LLC, says his business background makes him the strongest candidate to challenge president Barack Obama.
During today's address, Mr Romney attacked Mr Obama and politicians in Washington for failing to create jobs, a lagging housing market, and high federal spending.
"It was a moment of crisis for our economy, and when Barack Obama came to office, we wished him well and hoped for the best," Mr Romney said.
"Now, in the third year of his four- year term, we have more than slogans and promises" to judge him by. "Barack Obama has failed America," he said.
"We are only inches away from ceasing to be a free market economy," he said.
"From my first day in office my No. 1 job will be to see that America once again is No. 1 in job creation," Mr Romney said.
"I will cap federal spending at 20 per cent or less of the GDP and finally, finally balance the
budget. My generation will pass the torch to the next generation, not a bill," the presidential hopeful added.
"I'm Mitt Romney and I believe in America. And I'm running for president of the United States," he said to cheers.
Mr Romney has a powerful fund-raising apparatus in place having raised an astounding $10.25 million in an eight-hour phone-a-thon in Las Vegas last month. Contacts from his days running the venture capital firm Bain Capital are another rich source of campaign donations.
A New Hampshire win in next February's primary election would boost his chance of winning the party nomination to face Democratic incumbent president Barack Obama in the November 2012 general election.
Republican media star Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and 2008 vice-presidential nominee, has been creeping up behind Mr Romney in some polls. She is expected in New Hampshire later today as part of an East Coast bus tour that has fueled speculation she could soon announce her own White House bid.
Mr Romney's biggest stumbling block could be his support as governor for a Massachusetts healthcare program that became a model for Mr Obama's national healthcare overhaul. Many Republicans detest what they derisively call "Obamacare."
His Mormon faith also might be a hindrance to winning votes from evangelical Christians in the south.
The tag of "flip-flopper" haunts Romney after he shifted positions on issues such as abortion, gay rights and gun control to position himself for the Republican nomination in 2008, having governed more from the centre in Massachusetts.
Many wonder whether Mitt Romney is conservative enough for the current Republican Party. With Tea Party movement activists on the rise, the party has shifted to the right since the 2008 election.
Agencies