Mitt Romney is heard but not seen in a new ad for Utah Republican House candidate Mia Love .

Love, who could be the first black woman to serve as a Republican in Congress, is locked in a close race with Democratic incumbent Rep. Jim Matheson.

In a new campaign ad just 15 days before the election, Love, the mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah, uses photographs of Romney and audio from a robocall where the Republican presidential nominee urges voters to support Love.

"Mia is the only candidate in the race that will fight to reign in reckless spending and to lower taxes," Romney is heard saying in the ad as a ringing phone - not the presidential candidate - is pictured onscreen. "I hope you'll join me in supporting Mia in the upcoming election so that Utah's voice can help lead this country back to an economic recovery."

The ad was created by Friends of Mia Love.

Romney is popular in the district and the GOP has not been shy about tying his candidacy to Love's with the hope of boosting her chances for victory.

Romney is also pictured in another recent ad for Love. The latest ad from the National Republican Congressional Committee not only prominently features Romney, but it also paints Matheson as puppet to President Obama. The ad slams Matheson for supporting the president's "liberal agenda" while promoting Love as she smiles in a photograph with Romney.

"The more Republicans can tell the story about [Love's] support for and from Romney the better," one senior GOP campaign operative said. "Matheson, meanwhile, has been very vocal about his support for Obama and his policies."

Last August Love delivered a widely acclaimed speech at the Republican National Convention in Tampa and she also served as the master of ceremony for a Romney fundraiser in September. His son, Josh Romney, is also an informal adviser to Love and has campaigned in Utah on her behalf.

Matheson, a six-term Democrat, has been a top target for House Republicans in recent years, but the fiscally moderate Blue Dog has always managed to hold off his challengers in previous elections.

Matheson is sometimes described as a conservative Democrat, and recently won the endorsement of businessman and philanthropist Jon Huntsman, Sr., the father of former Utah governor Jon Huntsman, Jr., who ran a failed bid for the Republican nomination for president.