Acting Gov. Swift Will Pass on Uphill Fight

Facing a soaring budget gap and sagging poll numbers, acting Gov. Jane Swift dropped out of the Massachusetts governor’s race Tuesday. Within hours, Mitt Romney, fresh from his high-profile leadership at the Winter Olympics, announced he would enter the contest.

“I am announcing this afternoon my decision to end my campaign as governor,” Swift, a Republican, said at a news conference in Boston. “I believe this is in the best interest of my state.”

The acting governor said she decided to step aside because the economic slowdown had complicated the job and the prospect of running against Romney, who was both wealthy and popular, would make the race even more demanding.

She said the twin pressures of her office plus campaigning would cut into “non-negotiable” time with her family. “The reality, and I’m sure there isn’t a working parent in America that hasn’t faced it, is that when the demands of the two tasks that you take on both increase substantially, something has to give,” said Swift, the mother of three young children.

Romney didn’t formally announce for the job, but he made his intentions absolutely clear.

“I’m in. The bumper stickers are being printed and the Web site is going up,” he said on the front lawn of his home in the Boston suburb of Belmont. “The campaign papers have been filed today.”

Swift’s decision was unexpected, though speculation that Romney, the head of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, might run clearly had hurt her fund-raising abilities.

Her announcement also was embarrassing for two of her most prominent supporters.

On Monday, former Gov. Wlliam F. Weld backed Swift in the race, stating his “unequivocal support and admiration.”

Former Sen. Edward W. Brooke also had announced his backing.

Swift, who said she made her decision late Monday, took office last April when the Bush administration named Gov. Paul Cellucci as ambassador to Canada. At the age of 37, she became the first female chief executive in the history of the Bay State and the nation’s youngest governor.

Recently, she proclaimed she was unfazed by the possibility of Romney’s entry into the contest. But a poll showed Swift trailing the wealthy 55-year-old businessman by as much as 60 points among likely Republican voters.

Romney’s father, George, served three terms as governor of Michigan and sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1968.

Swift’s withdrawal left Romney as the only Republican contender. The crowded field of Democrats includes Robert B. Reich, the former secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration; Massachusetts state Treasurer Shannon O’Brien; Steve Grossman, a businessman; and Warren Tolman, a former state legislator.

“It is going to be a very tough, rough-and-tumble campaign,” Romney said in a phone interview with reporters. “I have five Democratic opponents. They will be working collectively to make me enemy No. 1.”

He said he was surprised by Swift’s decision and neither he nor his staff had been in contact with her or her supporters.

At the White House, officials said neither President Bush nor any of his political advisors was involved Swift’s decision not to run.

Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said the administration learned of the decision Tuesday morning.

Recent polls showed that only about 25% of voters approved of Swift’s handling of her office. She was especially criticized for using her staff as baby sitters.

In 1994, Romney ran a strong race against Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. And even though he headed the Salt Lake Olympic organizing effort, he kept his Massachusetts base.

GOP leaders said the Olympic Games had only increased his visibility among voters in Massachusetts and had provided him with an invaluable springboard for the election in November.

Times staff writer Edwin Chen contributed to this report.