Romney stumps for McCain in New Mexico

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Bill Donovan
Staff writer

GALLUP — Mitt Romney is not a big fan of election polls.
Speaking in Farmington on Saturday, Romney, interviewed by phone, said he feels that Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama are a lot closer than the polls indicate and predicted that it would come down to the wire on Tuesday as to whom will be the next president of the United States.

Obama currently has a lead nationwide, according to the polls, of five to seven percentage points and has similar leads in New Mexico.

But Romney was upbeat as he toured New Mexico on Saturday — he also hit Albuquerque — speaking on behalf of McCain.

He thought the turnout in Farmington — about 250 — was good.

“We had more people here than Gov. Richardson did,” he said.

Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, had hoped to be the Republican candidate himself but his support fell through long before the primary ended.

He said he hasn’t thought about another possible run four years from now and he is not seeking a position in the McCain administration. “Right now, all of my thoughts are on getting McCain elected because he would be a lot better for America at this time than Obama would.”

In the telephone interview, he said one of the main differences between the two candidates and the one that he planned to emphasize during his speeches in New Mexico was their positions on taxation.

“John McCain will keep our taxes down; Obama won’t,” he said, adding that he also felt that this area would benefit from a McCain administration because he would put more emphasis on job creation than Obama would.

“This area needs more jobs, and with McCain in office, it will have them,” he said.