Ayotte Set to Appear With Romney at July 4th Parade

New Hampshire GOP Sen. Kelly Ayotte is scheduled to march with presidential candidate Mitt Romney in the Wolfeboro, N.H., July 4 parade, knowledgeable sources told ABC News.

Ayotte will be the first potential vice presidential candidate to appear publicly with Romney during his week-long vacation in Wolfeboro.

The political class has speculated that Romney will use his vacation to meet potential vice presidential selections. Ayotte is seen as a contender, but not in the top tier with former Minnesota Gov. Tom Pawlenty and Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, who is set to meet with Romney later this week.

Ayotte campaigned with Romney in New Hampshire last month during his five-day, battleground state bus tour. She has appeared with him several other times during the campaign as well and endorsed him way back in November. Last week, Ayotte acted as Romney’s surrogate at the National Right to Life conference in Arlington, Va.

Ayotte revved up a Romney event in Portsmouth, N.H., about an hour’s drive from Wolfeboro, in April. “If Washington isn’t broken, I don’t know what is,” she said. “And now more than ever we need Mitt Romney’s leadership in the White House.”

Ayotte plans to bring her husband, Joe Daley, an Iraq war veteran and small business owner, to Wednesday’s parade. Daley has a landscaping company in New Hampshire. Ayotte’s children, Katherine and Jacob, also will attend.