Associated Press
ATLANTA --- Republican White House hopeful Mitt Romney trumpeted his conservative credentials to a pumped-up crowd of supporters in Georgia on Monday, a day before presidential primary voters head to the polls as part of Super Tuesday.
Associated Press
Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney blasted rival John McCain's policies during a campaign stop in Atlanta. With his experience in the private sector, Mr. Romney said, he could handle America's faltering economy.
"We're going to have a choice tomorrow and I tell you Georgia's going to have big voice in this," Mr. Romney told about 500 people gathered at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center. The Atlanta stop was part of a cross-country dash by the former Massachusetts governor with less than 24 hours to go before polling places open in 24 states.
Mr. Romney was the only presidential candidate to touch down in Georgia on Monday. GOP rivals John McCain and Mike Huckabee were in the state over the weekend.
Mr. Romney wasted no time taking aim at front-runner Mr. McCain, blasting the Arizona senator for authoring a compromise immigration bill and campaign finance law. Mr. Romney said his own years in the private sector make him far better qualified to handle the nation's sputtering economy.
"I think at a time like this when our economy is fragile, it actually would be helpful again to have a president who's had a job in the real economy," Mr. Romney said to whoops of support.
He was joined on stage by Sadie Fields, the head of the influential Georgia Christian Alliance, who came on board with a coveted personal endorsement Monday.
Mr. Romney is competing with Mr. Huckabee for Georgia's evangelical Christian voters, and he avoided mention of the former Arkansas governor and Baptist minister from the stage.
Speaking to reporters after his speech, Mr. Romney largely let former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, of Pennsylvania, tackle Mr. Huckabee.
Mr. Santorum said Mr. Huckabee "has not done what a bona fide contender needs to do to win the election."
"Mitt Romney is the only person in this race that can stop John McCain and the elites in the party that don't care about the issues that people in Georgia care about," Mr. Santorum said.
The campaigns for the other White House wannabes were busy rallying supporters Monday:
- Outside the state Capitol, about a dozen state lawmakers gathered to cheer on the campaign of Democrat Barack Obama.
- State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond planned a nighttime gathering at the University of Georgia in Athens to boost support for Mr. Obama's chief rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
- Mr. Huckabee released a video recorded at a stop in Macon, Ga., that urged his supporters to get to the polls.
