By Peter S. Canellos, Globe Columnist  |  December 12, 2006

WASHINGTON — Until very recently, Governor Mitt Romney has been a
long shot preparing for a race — the Republican presidential primaries
– that almost always goes to the favorite.

But through shrewd moves and good luck, Romney has steadily risen
through the ranks of GOP prospects. Now, almost everyone in Republican
politics ranks Romney as the second-likeliest nominee, behind Senator
John McCain of Arizona.

Such early soundings are a popular inside-Washington parlor game.
But they carry some weight in the Republican Party, whose leaders tend
to line up early behind presidential candidates. Preseason favorites
have won every nomination since, um, 1968, when Romney’s late father,
Governor George Romney of Michigan, was the early front-runner. He lost
to a late-entering Richard Nixon.

The current Governor Romney needed strong backing early in the
process to be taken seriously as a contender. Republicans don’t like
new faces, so Romney had to make himself familiar very quickly. He has
done that, and more.

Last week, Romney was the runner-up to McCain in an exhaustive
National Journal poll of Washington insiders. And McCain himself has
validated the early soundings by crashing the annual convention of the
Republican Governors Association, which Romney chaired. McCain knew
that Romney’s ties to Republican governors could give him thousands of
foot soldiers in the primaries. It was a testament to the extent of
Romney’s support that McCain felt a need to intervene so early and so
directly.

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