U.S. Sen. Kelly A. Ayotte of New Hampshire has been invited to speak at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, where former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is expected to be nominated as the GOP presidential candidate, a Republican source confirmed Wednesday night.

“Our country is facing great challenges, and the nomination of Mitt Romney to be our next President at the Republican National Convention will be a critical step for us to begin cleaning up the mess in Washington,” Ayotte said in a statement. She did not reference her speaking role in the statement.

“With 42 straight months of over eight percent unemployment, it's clear that the policies of the last three and a half years have failed,” the statement read. “Governor Romney is committed to making us stronger both here at home and throughout the world, and he will start by getting America's fiscal house in order and putting us on a path to a brighter economic future.”

The Republican convention is Aug. 27-30.

For several months, Ayotte continued to be listed as a possible running mate for Romney until Saturday's announcement that U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin had been selected.

She joins a who's-who of Republican stars speaking at the convention, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who will deliver the keynote address, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and U.S. Sen. John McCain, who was the party's nominee in 2008.

Ayotte endorsed Romney in November in the months leading up to New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary election, which Romney won. She has continued to campaign with and on behalf of Romney since then and is scheduled to appear with Romney at a campaign event in Iowa next week.

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