USA: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney hosts a spaghetti dinner in the town of Tilton in New Hampshire as he inches ahead in the polls, just days ahead of the primary

Record ID: 739665

  • Title: USA: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney hosts a spaghetti dinner in the town of Tilton in New Hampshire as he inches ahead in the polls, just days ahead of the primary
  • Date: 8th January 2012
  • Summary: TILTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE, UNITED STATES (JANUARY 6, 2012) (REUTERS) REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE MITT ROMNEY ENTERING HALL AND GREETING PEOPLE HIM, WITH CHANT: "MITT, USA!" WIDE VIEW OF ROMNEY ADDRESSING CROWD (SOUNDBITE) (English) REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE MITT ROMNEY SAYING: "Of course I was in New Hampshire campaigning four years ago and got the chance to see people all over the state. I learned some lessons. One is people in New Hampshire expect you to work hard, to earn it and we're in a real battle right now. I know some pollsters say I'm doing real well. I tell you those polls, they could just disappear overnight. What you say to a pollster is a bit like going on a date. It's like, "Well, I might try this but you know what, getting married, that's something else." So you guys...we need to make sure that you're working real hard and I'll keep working real hard. We'll go to town meeting after town meeting and retail events and all the politics. And by the way, two debates: one tomorrow night, then one the next morning. Why even stop? Why not just go right straight through. It's on-stop, so I need your help and look forward to that help." PHOTOGRAPHER / AUDIO OF CROWD APPLAUDING (SOUNDBITE) (English) REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE MITT ROMNEY SAYING: "It is my priority to get this president out of office and if I'm not the nominee, I will be supporting our nominee and working for him. I will work hard for our nominee. And by the way, I know that in the process of the primary process we'll be going after each other, I mean, as someone said long ago, 'politics aint beanbags', so we'll be going back and forth, but then when it's all over we ought to be able to hug and go to work to get one of us elected president of the United States because if there's a candidate who thinks this campaign is about them, they're wrong. This campaign is about America and about keeping this country true to the principles on which it was founded and so we'll put our egos and bruised feelings aside and come back and do what's the right thing for our nation." AUDIENCE APPLAUDING ROMNEY APPLAUDING WIDE OF HALL ROMNEY THANKING HIS SUPPORTERS / AUDIO OF "OCCUPY" PROTESTERS CHANTING: "ROMNEY SAYS HE CREATES JOBS..." SPAGHETTI BEING DISHED INTO PLATES IN THE KITCHEN ROMNEY STANDING IN KITCHEN, GREETING PEOPLE AS THEY COME TO GET THEIR PLATES OF SPAGHETTI ROMNEY SUPPORTERS SEATED AT TABLE WITH PLATES OF SPAGHETTI MAN EATING SPAGHETTI
  • Embargoed: 23rd January 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa, Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA6C2MR6XT2S1GZ7T1VUCLXOQPU
  • Story Text: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney hosted a dinner in New Hampshire on Friday (January 6, 2012), urging his supporters to help him stay in the lead.
    At a school hall in the town of Tilton, Romney addressed the room which was filled with local residents and the media. After his speech he took questions from the audience.
    "I was in New Hampshire campaigning four years ago and got the chance to see people all over the state. I learned some lessons. One is people in New Hampshire expect you to work hard, to earn it and we're in a real battle right now. I know some pollsters say I'm doing real well. I tell you those polls, they could just disappear overnight," he told the crowd.
    "I need your help and look forward to that help," he added.
    Reacting to the rivalry between him and other Republican candidates, he said, "It is my priority to get this president out of office and if I'm not the nominee, I will be supporting our nominee and working for him. I will work hard for our nominee. And by the way, I know that in the process of the primary process we'll be going after each other, I mean, as someone said long ago, 'politics aint beanbags', so we'll be going back and forth, but then when it's all over we ought to be able to hug and go to work to get one of us elected president of the United States because if there's a candidate who thinks this campaign is about them, they're wrong. This campaign is about America and about keeping this country true to the principles on which it was founded and so we'll put our egos and bruised feelings aside and come back and do what's the right thing for our nation."
    His comments were well received as the audience erupted in applause, but there was also a small group of protesters from the "Occupy" movement who questioned his promises of creating more jobs.
    As Romney's speech drew to a close and he left the hall, they chanted, "Romney made millions from bankrupting companies."
    Romney has surged to the front of the Republican pack in South Carolina, a poll said earlier on Friday, a sign that the former governor could emerge as a formidable front-runner from the first phase of the nomination race.
    Backing for Romney jumped to 37 percent, a 17 percent increase since early December, according to a Time/CNN/ORC poll of likely South Carolina primary voters conducted on Wednesday (January 4) and Thursday (January 5).
    If Romney follows his slim victory in Iowa's caucuses with a win in next week's primary in New Hampshire, where he has a solid lead, a triumph in South Carolina on January 21 could give him a nearly insurmountable edge as he vies for the nomination to oppose Democratic President Barack Obama in November's election.
    Ahead of Tuesday's primary in New Hampshire, a 7 News/Suffolk University tracking poll of likely primary voters showed Romney, a former governor of neighboring Massachusetts, with a strong lead of 40 percent.
    Ron Paul was in second in New Hampshire at 17 percent, according to the poll conducted on Wednesday and Thursday. Rick Santorum's backing rose to 11 percent, up from 8 percent at the beginning of the week, it said.
    Since finishing narrowly behind Romney in Iowa, Santorum has also moved ahead of Newt Gingrich and former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman in the New Hampshire survey.
    One percent of the New Hampshire voters surveyed backed Rick Perry, and 15 percent were undecided.
    The New Hampshire poll was based on telephone interviews of 500 likely voters in the Republican primary and has a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.
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