Romney to visit Utah for fundraisers, Hatch photo-op

Mitt Romney

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney will visit Utah on Friday to help raise money for himself and to boost Senator Orrin Hatch's campaign.


It will be the first Utah visit from Romney since he essentially wrapped up the Republican nomination with a primary win in Texas last week, and the first Beehive State visit since Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich dropped out of the race.

Romney is familiar face in Utah since he served as president/CEO for the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games.

Romney will attend a handful of private fundraising events during his brief visit on Friday, which will not be open to the public or media.

Romney has been jet-setting across the country to key battleground states in the past two months.

The candidate will more than likely not spend much time in Utah over the months leading up to November's general election, since he is expected to win all 6 of the state's electoral votes handily.

A news release from the Romney campaign said that former the Massachusetts Governor will appear with Hatch at a private plane terminal at the Salt Lake International Airport on Friday afternoon, and that the event will be open to media for "photo op only."

Hatch faces a primary battle on June 26 against fellow GOP challenger Dan Liljenquist.