New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg endorsed fellow Republican Mitt Romney for president at a noontime rally in downtown Concord yesterday, billing the former Massachusetts governor as a fiscal conservative and an outsider capable of cleaning up Washington.

"I don't think people from Washington know how to solve the problem," Gregg told reporters, explaining his decision to back Romney in the primary.

After the rally on the steps of the state's political library, Romney crossed the street to the State House, where he officially added his name to the New Hampshire primary ballot.

Gregg, the state's senior senator, is the biggest endorsement in New Hampshire's Republican contest this year. Sen. John Sununu has said he will not endorse in the primary, and Democrats hold both House seats and the governor's seat.

Yesterday's news was far from shocking. Insiders had expected Gregg to go for Romney. Tom Rath, a longtime adviser and confidant of Gregg, is a consultant to Romney's campaign.

Romney has run an early state campaign, saying that wins in Iowa and New Hampshire will propel him forward. He consistently leads polls in both Iowa and New Hampshire but trails former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani in national polls.

In a question-and-answer session with reporters, Romney called the endorsement "essential to this campaign."

Republicans affiliated with other campaigns questioned the value of the endorsement, saying that Gregg has had a primary losing streak. He backed George W. Bush in 2000, who lost the primary to Sen. John McCain. In 1996, he supported former Kansas senator Bob Dole, who lost to Pat Buchanan in New Hampshire.

Gregg, the senior Republican on the Senate budget committee, is an avowed fiscal hawk, and he repeatedly emphasized Romney's capability as a fiscal watchdog.

Gregg said that Romney was even "very conservative in his approach to asking me for my support." Romney, Gregg and their wives first had dinner eight or nine months ago, Gregg said, and Romney simply asked for his support and gave the reasons why.

The senator also praised the candidate for campaigning in the "New Hampshire way."

"You've spent a lot of time in New Hampshire and met a lot of New Hampshire citizens," Gregg said. "You've been here often. You've made yourself available. You've been answering questions from citizens. You're not pursuing a media campaign. You're pursuing a one-on-one, tell-me-the-questions-you-have-and-I'll answer-them campaign."

The endorsement might be most meaningful in the still-fluid Republican race in that it denies a boost to Romney's rivals, said Wayne Lesperance, an associate professor of political science at New England College.

"I'm not sure that this means a whole lot to (Romney) other than it means (Gregg's) not endorsing somebody else," Lesperance said.

The Gregg name has long been a force in New Hampshire politics. Gregg served as governor and congressman before being elected to the Senate in 1992. Gregg's father, the late governor Hugh Gregg, was known as a fierce defender of the state's early primary. The elder Gregg wrote three books on the subject, one with Secretary of State Bill Gardner.

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