It's one of the first steps in a complex process that Romney and a host of other politicians have taken or will take soon as the 2008 presidential contest enters its official season. Between now and Election Day, less than two years away, the candidates will be vetted by the public and the news media in almost every conceivable way.

"It's going to be the Wild West," Federal Election Commission Chairman Michael Toner told The Salt Lake Tribune. "It's going to be the longest, the most expensive campaign of our lifetimes."

And the next few months are key to the entire race.

Romney, for example, will have to raise upward of $20 million to $30 million in about three months, according to campaign observers. He'll have to hire staff across the country, launch his campaign headquarters and learn to love talking about ethanol in Iowa, which will hold the nation's first caucus in January 2008.

In the next three to six months, if Romney wants a good shot at the GOP nomination, he has to prove he is not only viable against the field of contenders but also define who he is, what he believes in, and, uniquely, explain why his LDS faith should not be a deciding factor for voters.

Money race: Romney has held an advantage over a few of the other potential presidential candidates, but, should he run, will be forced into a tough spot straight out of the chute.

Sens. John McCain and Sam Brownback, two Republicans who have already announced exploratory committees, were forbidden by campaign laws from collecting more than the limit of $2,100 per person because they are federal officeholders, while Romney has five state political action committees and one federal one where he could load up on funds to take trips to early primary or caucus states. Some of those states had high limits or no limits at all on incoming cash.

Romney showed he was becoming a shrewd fundraiser by collecting some $8.8 million for his Commonwealth PAC. But under federal law he can't use any of that cash once he forms the exploratory committee.

That means Romney starts from zero in the next few days if he files as expected, and he will have only a short time to draw in big bucks or lose his shot at being perceived as a serious candidate.

Campaign consultants for some of the major candidates said at a recent conference in Washington that any contender who wants to be legitimate will have to show a bank account of $20 million to $30 million in the first quarter campaign disclosure filing.

The FEC's Toner, who served as legal counsel to Sen. Bob Dole's 1996 campaign and George W. Bush's 2000 bid, says he anticipates candidates raising up to $60 million in the first six months and maybe even spending upwards of $500 million in the entire race. (In comparison, Bush spent $270 million in 2004).

The first filing, though, is crucial.

"It shows a condition of strength," Toner says of a thick filing. "It often attracts media attention, talented staff and, most importantly, it provides you ability to run a national campaign."

Compared with Romney, McCain and Brownback will have an advantage going forward because they can take any money left in their senatorial campaign accounts and roll it into their presidential account. Then they can go back to donors who have already given the limit of $2,100 to their Senate campaigns and ask for another $2,100 for the White House bid, according to Paul Ryan, the FEC program director of the Campaign Legal Center in Washington.

Beyond the hurdle of money, though, Romney also faces challenges in ensuring name recognition and defining himself in the way he wants to be known.

Message time: Right now, it seems, Romney is known as the Mormon. Almost every news story about the governor mentions his membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - a possible stumbling block since several polls have shown some voters saying they won't cast ballots for a Mormon.

But Romney doesn't want to be known as the Mormon candidate and will have to work in the next several months to show voters his other qualities and achievements. That may mean addressing his Mormon religion in a speech like John F. Kennedy's famous comments that the pope would not be dictating U.S. policy.

Romney has got to assure voters that he is not doing the bidding of his church, says Rich Hanley, director of graduate programs in the school of communication at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut.

"Is he running as a secular candidate or a representative of his faith?" Hanley says. "Is it a race about religion or a race about America?"

Another label that could hurt Romney is being governor of what is sometimes referred to as the most liberal state in the nation.

"He has to delete in many ways that he was governor of Massachusetts," Hanley says. "He has to redefine himself from what got him to the position of running for president in the first place."

Along those lines, Romney has to assure voters of his stands on the issues, particularly on the difference between the current Mitt Romney - pro-life and against gay marriage - and the Mitt Romney of 1994 who said he was left of Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., on some social issues.

"The biggest test for him right now is, 'Who is Mitt Romney?' " says Lewis Wolfson, a professor emeritus of communication at American University in Washington. "The country doesn't know who he is. It's more than letting people know, it's getting himself in the public eye and also building his stature as a legitimate presidential candidate."

Most presidential candi- dates build their reputations and define themselves in a series of speeches nationwide. Romney will have to start laying out his positions on subjects from health care to the war in Iraq, and hope to attract news media attention.

Romney, like every other candidate, has made multiple visits to the states where voters start the process of winnowing down the presidential contenders, including Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire.

One of the first big tests of the candidates will be this August in the Iowa straw poll, a vote that technically counts for nothing but has big stakes for candidates who want to keep their momentum.

Another key element of the next few months is setting up a campaign structure. Romney has made strides in hiring core staffers and finding fundraisers in several states who can help bring in all the cash he will need. But he, like the other candidates, still has to massage potential supporters and hometown political celebrities to move into his camp.

"Obviously you have to do a lot of groundwork," says Wolfson.

tburr@sltrib.com

Ready for launch

As presidential candidates start their sprint to the White House, candidates must:

* VISIT KEY STATES: Make frequent and substantial visits to the states with the first primary contests, including Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina

* HIRE AN ARMY: Pick up key campaign staffers before someone else nabs them

* FILE THE PAPERS: Form an exploratory committee to start the campaign rolling

* RAISE A FORTUNE: Beg supporters nationwide to donate in hopes of raising millions of dollars in only a few months

* GRAB HEADLINES: Get in newspapers and on TV and radio, and stay there