BOSTON (AP) – Gov. Mitt Romney, who’s spent the past several months addressing Republican loyalists in political hot spots around the country, acknowledged Tuesday what’s been obvious for the past several months: He’s considering a presidential run.

“If someone said, well, you know, the governor’s testing the national waters, that’s a fair characterization,” Romney said. “But I’m planning on running for governor. Time will tell, I’ll make a final decision and an announcement in the fall, and we’ll go from there.”

Romney, a former venture capitalist who headed the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, won that year’s race for governor in Massachusetts.

He’s recently spent time in South Carolina, Michigan and California to address Republicans. In those addresses, he’s cast himself as a social conservative on such issues as same-sex marriage and stem cell research. Last weekend, he traveled to the Republican stronghold of Orange County in California.

In February, it was revealed that a political action committee established by friends and supporters of Romney had distributed more than $250,000 to Republican candidates and county GOP organizations across the nation, a strategy often used by candidates considering a run for president.

Romney’s first term for governor ends in 2006. In December, Romney pledged to run for re-election, but he’s gradually backed away from that commitment.

On Tuesday, Romney reiterated that he would wait until fall to make a final decision about a re-election bid.

“I’m out speaking across the country. … I’m seeing what it’s like in the rest of the nation, but nothing’s changed,” he said. “My job keeps me here.”

Phil Johnston, chairman of the state Democratic Party, said that it’s become more and more clear that Romney is considering a run for the White House. He said it would be unlikely that Romney would run for governor in 2006, if he was planning on a presidential run.

“From a Democratic Party perspective, we’re going to be ready no matter who they throw at us,” he said.

Former Justice Department prosecutor in the Clinton Administration, Deval Patrick, who’s seeking the Democratic nomination for governor, said Romney’s comments were no surprise.

“The governor’s heart has never been in the job. He has been in office 903 days, too many of them traveling across the country making fun of Massachusetts to score political points,” Patrick said in a statement.