Only the beginning: Romney hedges on Iowa but says he'll be nominee

BETTENDORF, Iowa — Mitt Romney said Wednesday he expects to win the Republican presidential nomination — but repeatedly stopped short of predicting a victory in today's Iowa caucuses, the first contest in the race for the White House.

"I can't predict what the outcome is going to be here in Iowa. I'm sure hopeful I get a first-place finish. If I don't, I'm just going to keep right on battling," Romney told reporters during the day's first campaign stop, at the Bettendorf Middle School near the Mississippi River in the Quad City area.

But, he said, he believes he will be the Republican on the November general election ballot. "I honestly do believe that I'm going to get the nomination for our party," Romney said, quickly adding he couldn't name which states would back his bid. "Ultimately, I'll be the nominee."

Appearing upbeat, the former Massachusetts governor told reporters he was "anxious to see what the next step will be" and compared the results of tonight's 7 p.m. caucuses to a wrapped package under the Christmas tree that could contain a gift — or a lump of coal.

Romney spent the last full day of campaigning before Iowans gather to select their picks for the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees flying around the state to rally supporters in key media markets, accompanied by a planeload of reporters.

His chief competitor, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, chose to travel to California for an appearance on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno on Wednesday. Asked about Huckabee's decision to leave Iowa on the eve of the election, Romney said his rival must be "more concerned about the caucus in Los Angeles."

Huckabee is ahead of Romney in several new polls, including a Des Moines Register survey released late Monday that gave the Southern Baptist minister a six-point lead among likely Republican caucusgoers. That same poll showed Arizona Sen. John McCain gaining in Iowa, although he is still a distant third, with 13 percent, compared to 32 percent for Huckabee and 26 percent for Romney.

McCain's movement in the Iowa poll — he's up six points since November — was dismissed by Romney's press secretary Eric Fehrnstrom. "McCain is not a threat in Iowa," he said, suggesting that McCain should be doing even better.

But it was McCain, not Huckabee, that Romney was focused on Wednesday. Like Huckabee earlier in Iowa, McCain is now shaking Romney's front-runner status in New Hampshire, which holds its presidential primary on Jan. 8.

"Welcome to Iowa, senator," Romney joked to an audience of volunteers, including students from Ohio waving campaign signs, crowded into the middle school's library.