Mitt Romney, the former Republican governor of Massachusetts, set out yesterday to convince America that it was ready for its first Mormon president as he officially entered the 2008 White House race.

A chisel-jawed multimillionaire with a remarkable record in public and private life, Mr Romney has muscled into the top tier of Republican presidential hopefuls by assembling a formidable fundraising operation and campaign machine.

But as he began a three-day tour after declaring his candidacy in his home state of Michigan he faced two significant hurdles. First, Mr Romney, who as recently as 2004 appeared pro-abortion and was once a staunch supporter of gay rights, must convince social conservatives — a vital part of the Republicans’ primary base — that he is really one of them.

Second, he must convince the same conservatives, especially Southern evangelicals, who hold disproportionate influence in the selection of Republican presidential nominees, that his Mormonism is not a threat. Many on the Religious Right do not consider Mormons to be Christians.

This strategy was on display as Mr Romney rolled out his candidacy as a Reaganite, small-government, social conservative. In a speech that repeatedly extolled family values and the sanctity of life, he was flanked by his wife since 1969, Ann, their five sons and five daughters-in-law, and ten grandchildren.

It was a not-so-subtle message that despite being a Mormon — Mr Romney, 59, describes the illegal practice of polygamy as “bizarre” — only he among the main Republican contenders had remained married to one woman. His two chief rivals, John McCain and Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, have five marriages between them.

In 1994 Mr Romney unsuccessfully challenged Ted Kennedy, a liberal lion, for his Massachusetts Senate seat. During the campaign he was vocally pro-abortion and gay rights, a message that came back to haunt him. Three years ago, in an almost overnight conversion, Mr Romney declared himself antiabortion and a foe of gay marriage.

In his last three years as governor he vetoed embryonic stem-cell legislation and opposed a state Supreme Court ruling legalising gay marriage. “I believe in God; I believe in the sanctity of life; I believe the family is the foundation of America,” Mr Romney declared yesterday.

A hugely successful venture capitalist, Mr Romney saved the scandal-plagued 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. As governor, he closed Massachusetts’ $3 billion budget deficit without raising taxes and passed a system of near-universal health insurance. Mr Romney reiterated his support for Mr Bush’s surge plan for Iraq, which is also backed by Mr McCain and Mr Giuliani.

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