Mitt Romney Using 2012 Nevada Caucus As Springboard For February Republican Primary Contests

By KASIE HUNT, ASSOCIATED PRESS

LAS VEGAS -- Mitt Romney expects Nevada's caucuses to kick off a month of primary and caucus contests to keep momentum on his side in the race for the GOP presidential nomination.

Polls show Romney far ahead in advance of Saturday's voting, which follows months of organizing by the campaign of the former Massachusetts governor. Next up are Colorado and Minnesota, two other states he won in 2008, and later in February is his home state of Michigan.

Just one debate is planned this month, which diminishes the chances that his chief rival, Newt Gingrich, can renew his candidacy with a highly publicized head-on challenge.

"It's going to be a great showing, I think, tomorrow," Romney told volunteers gathered Friday at Brady Industry offices. "We are showing that organization and hard work and commitment make a real difference."

Romney spent Friday crisscrossing the state, visiting Reno and the gold mining town of Elko before ending the day with a rally in Las Vegas. He plans a quick trip Saturday to Colorado and then an evening event at a Las Vegas casino.

The former Massachusetts governor kept his focus squarely on Democratic President Barack Obama, all but ignoring Gingrich. The former House speaker acknowledged he expects to lose to Romney but hopes to beat Ron Paul for second place.

Romney criticized Obama's handling of the economy, even as new jobs numbers showed a dip in the unemployment rate.

"The policies of this administration have not been helpful. They, in fact, have been harmful. They have slowed down the recovery, made it more difficult," Romney said at a home and yard supply company in Reno, where he talked about the economy with local business leaders. "The president deserves the blame that he'll receive in this campaign."

Comments

[VOTER]

04:50 PM on 02/04/2012

Mitt's move to the front of the Clown Line was predictable.  $$$$$$$$.
Now measure the "enthusiasm"  of the GOP for MItt-Marie .............. (Silence)
They just don't like or trust the guy. Period. 

LOL

[marta76]

04:36 PM on 02/04/2012

I wonder who Mittens hires to wear his jeans long enough to make them look worn?

[99er2049er]

04:23 PM on 02/04/2012

I can hardly wait to see Obama kick Romney's but during the election, just to see that stupid smirk wiped off his pompous face.

[mcmutter]

12:56 PM on 02/04/2012

Mittens is DOA in November .....

[yauxeybalba]

12:31 PM on 02/04/2012

Let's hope he doesn't notice that Newt drained the pool before he humps off his "springboard".Momentum is the product of mass times velocity, will he get heavier, faster or both?

[Sabrae]

12:30 PM on 02/04/2012

In Minnesota, a handful of people will show up, but only if there is cookies. We're a blue state, and can't stand Romney, but we do like cookies.

[mnwildfan]

12:40 PM on 02/04/2012

Mmmmmmm, cookies.

[Sabrae]

02:30 PM on 02/04/2012

:D

[nellieh]

12:26 PM on 02/04/2012

My main concern and can't understand why no one has broached this with Romney; who wears your dungarees before you to make them look worn?

[yauxeybalba]

12:49 PM on 02/04/2012

Undocumented Mexicans from the southern branch of his family, he pays them $1/month but reserves the right to fire them.

[mcmutter]

12:59 PM on 02/04/2012

he hires college kids as interns .... starts them off on jean break-in ....

[Hillbilly49]

12:21 PM on 02/04/2012

Seventy-five percent of republicans don't trust WeirdWillard and view him as a fraud and a "flip-flopper;" tell me again how is WeirdWillard going to appeal to normal voters in a general election?

[SirReal1]

12:07 PM on 02/04/2012

"Mitt Romney expects Nevada's caucuses to kick off a month of primary and caucus contests to keep momentum on his side in the race for the GOP presidential nomination."

WHY does ANYONE read the Associated Press anymore?

[msbeal]

11:55 AM on 02/04/2012

"Romney tries to keep the momentum alive." LOL LOL LOL

Can you have 'momentum' to win a footnote in the history books?

[fitzroya]

11:46 AM on 02/04/2012

GOP LSD programmers discovered a programming error in Romney.

--------------------------------------------

Error in Romneybot: PR exception at line 435
Run :
Repeat
{
claim (misstatement);
state (previously_acceptable_nostrum);
} until (banker_funded_ads > news_cycle);

-----------------------------------------------
Hopefully that should correct the occasional glitch in disenfranchisement language that appears to make Mitt look both stupid and pandering to his audience of the moment. Oops, that should read LDS.

[mrJJ]

11:13 AM on 02/04/2012

Heh.. "Your Fired"... I guess he really does enjoy firing people :)

A GOP operative who won plaudits for bolstering Mitt Romney’s recent debate performances is not being retained by the front-runner’s campaign, an apparent victim of internal tensions over staff receiving too much credit for the candidate’s comeback, POLITICO has learned.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0212/72433.html