Mitt Romney To Visit Chester Township Today

Danielle Lynch
Delaware County Times

With the Pennsylvania primary election just one day away, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has decided to make another campaign stop in Delaware County today.

In the primary, Romney faces Texas Congressman Ron Paul and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Former Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum suspended his campaign earlier this month.

After Santorum suspended his campaign, Romney plugged ahead as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. The county Republican Party also endorsed Romney for president.

Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, will be joined by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., at Mustang Expediting, an expediting trucking business based in Chester Township. The town hall meeting will begin at 12:30 p.m.

Romney made his first campaign stop in Pennsylvania at the Iron Shop in Marple earlier this month.

“I think the Romney campaign knows the importance of Delaware County for the general election (in November),” said Delaware County Republican Party Chairman Andrew Reilly. “We’re happy that he’s coming to Delaware County again.”

During his stop at the Iron Shop, Romney took shots at President Barack Obama instead of his Republican opponents in the primary.

Romney pledged to repeal President Barack Obama’s federal health care law and said he would focus on creating jobs in the private sector. He said he would focus on growing small businesses and encouraging entrepreneurs.

“This president says he wants to transform America … I want to restore America,” Romney said to a crowd of over 500 people at the Iron Shop.

In addition to stopping in Delco this afternoon, Romney is expected to attend an event this morning at Consol Energy in the Pittsburgh area. He will be joined by Republican Tom Ridge, a former Pennsylvania governor, at that event.

Widener University Assistant Professor of Political Science Wes Leckrone said he believes Romney is trying to show unity within the Republican Party by making stops with Ridge, who is considered moderate, and Rubio, who has been aligned with the tea party movement.

“On one hand, it shows I’m the party nominee and I’m bringing the party together,” Leckrone said while providing analysis for Romney’s campaign stops today. “But on the other hand, it sets up Romney for November as well.”

Leckrone said that if Romney can win the more moderate Philadelphia suburbs, he has a better shot of winning the state in November.

Last week, Romney tapped longtime adviser Beth Myers to begin his search for a vice presidential candidate. Myers was Romney’s chief of staff when he was Massachusetts governor and currently a senior adviser on his presidential campaign.

When Diane Sawyer of ABC News asked Romney whether he was considering Rubio as a vice presidential candidate, he responded, “he’s one of the terrific leaders in our party.”

“But I think it’s way too early to begin narrowing down who the potential vice presidential nominees might be,” Romney said during the interview last week. “But we’re beginning that process, we’ll talk about a lot of folks, and then go through the kind of vetting and review process that you have to go through to make sure whoever you select will pass the evaluation that’s required by the American people.”

Reilly said anyone interested in attending the Romney town hall in Delco today should RSVP by sending an email to [email protected] or by calling 717-746-8098.

Read more: http://delcotimes.com/articles/2012/04/23/news/doc4f94c8425efde608478958.txt