Mitt Romney: GOP can reclaim its voice

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The nation's Republican Party has a chance to reclaim its voice in governors' elections this fall in Virginia and New Jersey, former Republican presidential prospect Mitt Romney said Friday.

Because they are the first voter referendums on President Barack Obama and an allied Democratic Congress, the off-off-year gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey are important nationally and a rallying point for the beleaguered GOP.

"When you don't have the White House, then you have a lot of voices that are all ... expressing their own views," Romney said of the disparate messages coming from former Vice President Dick Cheney and radio host Rush Limbaugh on the right and from centrists such as former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

The former Massachusetts governor and contender for the party's presidential nomination last year wrapped up two days of appearances in Virginia to aid Bob McDonnell, who is uncontested for the GOP gubernatorial nomination today at the state Republican convention.