Romney seeks support at rally on eve of caucuses

At his final Nevada rally before Saturday's GOP presidential caucuses, Mitt Romney Friday evening urged 400 supporters to vote for him so he can revive the economy and restore American values.

"Get out and caucus tomorrow," Romney said, speaking in a parking lot outside a Henderson pizza place. "Vote tomorrow. Get out there."

In a speech that lasted about 10 minutes, Romney made his closing argument for Republicans to back him, although he didn't make any mention of his three remaining GOP presidential opponents.

Romney is the heavy favorite for Nevada's GOP caucuses, having won the contest four years ago. But Rep. Ron Paul of Texas also has a deep following here. And Newt Gingrich is making a play to pick up support from conservatives and members of the tea party movement. Former Sen. Rick Santorum is competing as well, but not as aggressively.

Romney brought one of his fives sons to the rally as well as several grandchildren, telling the crowd he wants a bright future for them and other Nevadans and Americans suffering in the ill economy.

"I want to make sure America remains the shining city on the hill," Romney said, invoking the late President Ronald Reagan, a GOP icon.

The crowd responded warmly to his speech, cheering at times and holding up Romney campaign signs that were handed out as they arrived. As Romney spoke just after sundown, the temperature dropped, making for a chilly outdoor event.

The former Massachusetts governor said the last time he was in Henderson, four years ago to campaign, Republicans here "gave me a great send off" and helped him win the GOP caucus. But Romney dropped out and Barack Obama won Nevada and the presidency.

In the three years since, Romney said home values have dropped, the jobless rate has risen and Obama hasn't done enough to fix things.

"This has been a tough three years," Romney said. "It's time now for Barack Obama to get out of the way."

Appealing to the conservative crowd, Romney said the election was about more than just the economy. He said it also was about the direction of the country, which has been running on $1 trillion deficits.

He said if he's elected he'll cut and cap spending and balance the budget. He said he'll also boost energy development and take other steps to increase free enterprise that helped build the country.

"I want to restore to America the values that made us the great nation that we are," Romney said, citing the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence and the founding fathers as the guide.

"If I'm president, I will do everything in my power to abide by those principles," Romney.

Zac Petkanas, a spokesman for the Nevada Democratic Party who watched the rally, criticized the speech from Romney, who's a former venture capitalist and with Bain Capital.

"What we heard from Mitt Romney tonight is the same pro Wall Street, anti middle-class agenda that we've come to expect from someone who has spent a lifetime shipping American jobs overseas and whose message to Nevadans losing their homes is that they're on their own," Petkanas said in a statement.

Contact reporter Laura Myers at lmyers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919. Follow her on Twitter @lmyerslvrj.