U.S. Sen. Kelly A. Ayotte will focus on the importance of small businesses in the economic recovery when she speaks during a prime-time slot at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., next Tuesday.

The first-term Republican senator from New Hampshire is scheduled to speak between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. on the second day of the convention at which former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney is expected to become the party's presidential candidate, a Republican source said Monday. The convention opens Monday and concludes Thursday.

Ayotte, whose husband, Joe Daley, owns and runs a landscaping business, will promote small businesses as the backbone of the American economy. She also will single out Romney as the best man to unleash their potential by creating a climate in which they can thrive. She is expected to contrast Romney's business experience with President Barack Obama's regulatory policies, which Republicans claim have made it more difficult for small businesses to grow.