It is now official.  Mitt Romney is in the race for the hotly contested 2012 Republican nomination.  Romney kicked off his presidential bid in early primary state New Hampshire.  Romney’s main obstacle is a big one though—his health care plan while he was governor of Massachusetts remains a problem with many Republican voters.

“That’s his elephant in the room, and he still hasn’t dealt with it,” said Jerry DeLemus, who heads the Granite State Patriots Liberty PAC.  “This is a critical election — we might come up with better candidates than we’ve put up in the past,” said DeLemus, who admits he’s still hoping others will join the race.

Although Romney has vowed to repeal Obama’s signature health care plan if elected, he has not addressed his own state-wide health care plan that is similar to the federal plan that he now wants to repeal.  He did admit his own plan had some flaws, but his insurance plan is still widely popular in his home state.

Romney has risen to the front of some polls and he has more name recognition than in 2008. However some big names, such as Sarah Palin, have yet to make a decision on the race and could potentially eliminate Romney’s front runner status. Palin was conveniently also in the area during Romney’s coming out party, stealing away media attention.

Romney, 64, addressed the crowd at Scamman Farm last week, saying, “Barack Obama has failed America. When he took office, the economy was in recession. He made it worse, and he made it last longer.”

The former venture capitalist and governor pushed his business expertise during his speech.  He told the cheering crowd that voters need a new leader that can help the U.S. economy recover.  “Turning around a crisis takes experienced leadership and bold action. For millions of Americans, the economy is in crisis today, and unless we change course, it will be in crisis for all of us tomorrow,” Romney said.

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