Romney Campaigns With Rubio as Candidate’s Team Vets Possible Running Mates
Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee who’s vetting potential running mates after a bruising primary fight, is scheduled to campaign today in Pennsylvania with Florida Senator Marco Rubio.
Romney is stepping up his attacks against President Barack Obama and joining with Rubio, a vice presidential prospect, in the politically competitive state with an eye toward the November election. Romney’s victory in tomorrow’s election in Pennsylvania is virtually certain now that Rick Santorum, who once represented the state in the Senate, has left the race.
Rubio, 40, a Tea Party favorite and first-term senator whose Cuban-American roots might boost the Republican party’s appeal to Hispanic voters, has dismissed suggestions that he would take the No. 2 spot, saying he’d no longer discuss the prospect. He is to appear with Romney at a midday town-hall meeting with voters outside Philadelphia.
Romney, 65, has begun reaching out to Hispanics, who polls show have a low opinion of him after months in which the former Massachusetts governor focused on the need to crack down on illegal immigrants. While he emphasized his American roots in campaigning last night in Greencastle, Pennsylvania, Romney worked in a positive mention of legal immigrants.