USA: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney seeks to land a knockout blow against rival Rick Santorum in the race for the Republican U.S. presidential nomination
Record ID:
346557
USA: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney seeks to land a knockout blow against rival Rick Santorum in the race for the Republican U.S. presidential nomination
- Title: USA: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney seeks to land a knockout blow against rival Rick Santorum in the race for the Republican U.S. presidential nomination
- Date: 4th April 2012
- Summary: SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES (APRIL 3, 2012) (REUTERS) VOTERS AT POLLING STATION CLOSE OF VOTERS CASTING BALLOT TABLE WITH VOTER INFORMATION CLOSE OF BALLOT (SOUNDBITE) (English) HARRY LEWELL, VOTER, SAYING : "I think President Obama's on the right track for our presidency, doing a better job than other candidates I've seen on the other side." VARIOUS OF VOTERS AT POLLING STATION (SOUNDBITE) (English) KATHY ELY, VOTER, SAYING: "I think he's doing a great job, there's a lot to do, but he's smart, he's intelligent, he's measured, he's keeping us safe and he's doing the best he can and the economy's starting to turn. (REPORTER ASKING: "Do you think the Republican candidates have a chance?") "No, but the Democrats have to get their act together, because stranger things have happened." VOTER CASTING HIS BALLOT VOTER REGISTERING (SOUNDBITE) (English) ERIC OLSON, VOTER, SAYING : "I think if the economy doesn't improve significantly, its going to be a very tight race and it's looking like it might be close." MORE OF VOTERS AT POLLING STATION (SOUNDBITE) (English) VIRGINIA GIBBS, VOTER, SAYING : "I think they need to come together as a party and join together in identifying the issues and support the issues and come up with a clear plan. I don't see them united together and that's sort of their weakness, in my opinion.
- Embargoed: 19th April 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa, Usa
- Country: USA
- Topics: Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA950UEIUGT94IY71HMIT50C2VJ
- Story Text: As Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney sought to land a knockout blow against rival Rick Santorum in the race for the Republican U.S. presidential nomination, the difficulty of a general election matchup against Democratic President Barack Obama became clearer. Some voters in Maryland, one of three primaries on Tuesday (April 3), said they expected Obama to stay in the White House this November.
"I think President Obama's on the right track for our presidency, doing a better job than other candidates I've seen on the other side," voter Harry Lewell said at a polling station in Silver Spring. Maryland, a suburb of Washington.
A USA Today/Gallup poll found that women have helped Obama take a large lead over Romney in a dozen battleground states.
"I think he's doing a great job, there's a lot to do, but he's smart, he's intelligent, he's measured, he's keeping us safe and he's doing the best he can and the economy's starting to turn," said voter Kathy Ely.
Some voters were more skeptical, doubting Obama's chances at a second term, especially if the U.S. economy remained sluggish.
"I think if the economy doesn't improve significantly, its going to be a very tight race and it's looking like it might be close," said voter Eric Olson.
While the economy has been showing signs of progress, Romney says high unemployment, high poverty and burdensome regulations remain serious challenges that prove Obama has been a failure.
The Romney campaign has begun to plan how to move into a general election fight against Obama, looking at an increase in staffing and building up a rapid-response system to counter the Democrats' well-oiled campaign machine.
"I think they need to come together as a party and join together in identifying the issues and support the issues and come up with a clear plan. I don't see them united together and that's sort of their weakness, in my opinion," said voter Virginia Gibbs.
Romney leads in polls in Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington D.C., the latest contests in the grinding, months-long battle for the right to face Obama in the Nov. 6 election.
A sweep of all three would underscore Romney's growing strength and likely increase appeals from party leaders for Republicans to rally behind him despite deep reservations among many conservatives suspicious about whether he is one of them. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None