Romney pushing hard in Florida

He appeals for Hispanic vote in tight race with McCain

Published: Monday, Jan. 28, 2008 12:02 a.m. MST
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
SWEETWATER, Fla. — With one day to go until Florida voters go to the polls, Mitt Romney brought his message to some Hispanic voters on Sunday and will hit five cities via plane today.

Polls show Romney and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., still in a tight race for first place, with Rudy Giuliani —who at one time was the front-runner in the state — still lagging behind.

Romney continues to push his business experience and economic expertise while McCain, a Vietnam veteran and former prisoner of war, is emphasizing his leadership skills and military background, making claims that Romney wants a date certain to pull troops out of Iraq. Romney emphasizes he has not called for such a thing.

Romney says quotes from McCain indicate that he does not understand the economy and that the senator's proposals would raise gasoline and electricity prices. He also reminds voters that McCain initially voted against President Bush's tax cuts.

"I think he wants to talk about anything but that, and I won't let him," Romney said of McCain.

McCain got a boost late Saturday with the endorsement of popular Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who campaigned with him around the state Sunday. Florida Sen. Mel Martinez and the three Cuban American congressmen from South Florida also support McCain.

Story continues below

Romney congratulated McCain on the endorsements, saying he has some of his own as well but noted that the voters will make the decision on Tuesday.

"I expect that I'm going to win this not because of endorsements but because of my message of bringing economic strength and vitality to Florida and to the nation," Romney told reporters. "I simply don't think that the people of Florida are going to say the nominee of our party ought to be a person, who on more than one occasion, has expressed lack of understanding of our economy at a time when the economy is the number one issue that people are talking about here in the state of Florida."

Romney reached out to the Hispanic voters Sunday with a rally at the Jorge Mas Canosa Center, a youth center in the middle of predominantly Cuban and Central American neighborhood. A giant Cuban flag hung on the back wall.

Craig Romney, who spent his LDS mission in Chile, addressed the audience of nearly 150 in Spanish before the former Massachusetts governor took the stage in a Cuban guayabera shirt — a white gauzy shirt with pockets on the front.

Jose "Pepe" Diaz of the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners said that Luis Arrizurieta, a veteran of the Bay of Pigs invasion, gave Romney the shirt "with tears in his eyes." The campaign said Romney changed out of his shirt and tie at the event to wear the shirt, and Diaz said it would have been "a major insult" had he not accepted it. Arrizurieta is a member of the board there. Romney previously met the veteran when he spoke to members of the Miami post of the Bay of Pigs brigade 2506.

Recent comments

Mary Jo Kopechne had no comment and has not indicated whom she will...

BobRox | Jan. 28, 2008 at 6:31 p.m.

To richard nixon his priorities are in the right place, are you going...

anynomous | Jan. 28, 2008 at 12:22 p.m.

How can there still be people out there that don't support...

Go Mitt | Jan. 28, 2008 at 12:17 p.m.

Image
Lm Otero, Associated Press

GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, wearing a Cuban guayabera shirt, speaks to Hispanic voters in Sweetwater, Fla., on Sunday.

previousnext

Latest comments

Thanks for the report. We need more of these as more and more youth are...

Recently in an English class at a family center where the parents and...

'Love advocates' plan 'kiss-in' at Main Street Plaza

It was the Mormons who threw the first stone in this scuffle with their...

Obama: 'Africa not separate from world affairs'

1. Offended the Queen of England . 2. Bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia ....

Please, offended Mormons, enlighten an out-of-state observer- I have seen...

He was put in a Position Of Trust. He violated that Trust apparently many...

This demonstration is calculated to disrupt and/or offend the sensibilities...

Let's control borders

David: How would an 'illegal' even get on welfare? Please inform us how that...

I agree that we should be careful about judging too quickly, but I do think...

Too bad Snoozer opted in. It's a shame that the Jazz couldn't have taken his...

Advertisements