Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a likely ’08 presidential candidate, has hired Stephen Smith to lead his online communications team. Smith most recently worked for Sen. Bill Frist at VOLPAC, where he oversaw the website and handled outreach to bloggers.

The tech-savvy Smith joins two other highly respected Republicans who recently signed on with Romney. Former RNC Research Director Matt Rhoades and Kevin Madden, who served as House Majority Leader John Boehner’s spokesman, form the nucleus of Romney’s likely campaign team.

A source with knowledge of Smith’s hiring said Smith will play a key role in the design of a campaign website, should Romney decided to run. Romney is spending the holidays with his family in Utah and plans to make a decision shortly thereafter.

At VOLPAC, Smith was responsible for coordinating Frist’s interaction with bloggers, which included several one-on-one interviews, conference calls and a group meeting with bloggers that took place in the majority leader’s office. Smith was also responsible for several activism projects on VOLPAC’s site, such as Blogging for Bolton. He advised Frist to endorse Rightroots, the online grassroots fundraising effort that raised nearly $300,000 for conservative candidates.

Just last week, after facing criticism from bloggers over his gay-rights stance, the Right Angle's Matt Lewis advised Romney to hire a blogger. His decision should be well received in the blogosphere for acting sooner rather than later.

Of the leading contenders in ’08, Sen. John McCain has so far done the most outreach to bloggers through Ankle Biting Pundits’ Patrick Hynes and Spencer Whelan, formerly of APCO Worldwide.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who launched his exploratory committee website yesterday, has yet to hire a blogger or an online communications director.

Three potential bloggers still in the mix for ’08 jobs include RNC eCampaign Director Patrick Ruffini and his deputy, Matt Lira, should they choose to leave party headquarters. Jon Henke, who served as Sen. George Allen’s new media coordinator, has yet to sign on with a campaign.