(Updates with Romney comments in Iowa in 13th paragraph. For more campaign news, go to ELECT.)
June 18 (Bloomberg) -- Mitt Romney, campaigning in Wisconsin with Governor Scott Walker by his side, said he plans to win the battleground state that Democrats have dominated in recent U.S. presidential elections.
"We're going to win Wisconsin and we're going to get the White House," the presumptive Republican nominee told an audience today at a textile factory in Janesville. Wisconsin Republicans scored a much-publicized victory earlier this month as they mobilized to thwart a union-led bid to recall Walker.
Romney is keeping his focus on the economy as he nears the end of a bus tour through contested states, saying he will promote a climate friendlier to small business, domestic energy production and job creation, while asserting that President Barack Obama has mismanaged the recovery.
"If there's ever been a president who has not been able to provide the American people a fair shot, it's this president," said Romney, a former Massachusetts governor. "We're going to replace him with someone who will go to work again for you."
Recall Reference
Walker, introducing Romney at the Monterey Mills factory, referred to his June 5 recall win, a vote spurred by his successful push to restrict collective bargaining rights for public-employee unions.
"It is my honor to still be the 45th governor of the great state of Wisconsin," he said. "And it's my honor to be on stage with the man I hope is the 45th president of these United States."
Before Romney's speech, he and Walker toured the unionized factory. The two men examined the company's products, including stuffing for teddy bears.
The Obama campaign called Romney's Wisconsin remarks "an exercise in angry and evasive rhetoric."
"He offered no ideas of how to create jobs now or strengthen the economy," campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith said in an e-mailed statement.
Romney was also joined by Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the House Budget Committee chairman who endorsed him in March and is often mentioned in media reports as a possible running mate. Ryan accompanied Romney on the campaign trail for five consecutive days before the April 3 Wisconsin presidential primary. A week after Romney's win in that vote, former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, his main rival in the Republican race, ended his candidacy.
Other Prospects
Ryan is the latest prospective running mate to appear with Romney during his five-day bus tour. Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, a one-time rival for the nomination, and Senator Rob Portman of Ohio campaigned with Romney over the weekend.
Romney spent the previous two days visiting small towns in Pennsylvania and Ohio, after starting his six-state tour in New Hampshire on June 15. After his stop in Wisconsin, he traveled to Iowa today, and then he ends the tour tomorrow in his native Michigan.
Aboard a riverboat on the Mississippi River this afternoon in Dubuque, Iowa, Romney continued his assault on Obama.
"As I watch what's happening in Washington today, I don't think our president understands the power of economic freedom," he told about 100 supporters gathered on the Spirit of Dubuque. "Over the last three-and-a-half years, he's done almost everything wrong when it came to getting our economy going and as a result a lot of people are suffering today.
Romney Competitive
Obama in 2008 won all six of the states on Romney bus itinerary. This year, polling shows the Republican competitive in some of them. The former private-equity executive is using the trip to try to dispel the notion that he's a wealthy candidate who lacks regular-guy credentials.
Romney's visit to Wisconsin came as Walker's win in the recall has prompted Democratic and Republican strategists to reassess the state's political landscape and the meaning of that in the presidential race.
June 18 (Bloomberg) -- Mitt Romney, campaigning in Wisconsin with Governor Scott Walker by his side, said he plans to win the battleground state that Democrats have dominated in recent U.S. presidential elections.
"We're going to win Wisconsin and we're going to get the White House," the presumptive Republican nominee told an audience today at a textile factory in Janesville. Wisconsin Republicans scored a much-publicized victory earlier this month as they mobilized to thwart a union-led bid to recall Walker.
Romney is keeping his focus on the economy as he nears the end of a bus tour through contested states, saying he will promote a climate friendlier to small business, domestic energy production and job creation, while asserting that President Barack Obama has mismanaged the recovery.
"If there's ever been a president who has not been able to provide the American people a fair shot, it's this president," said Romney, a former Massachusetts governor. "We're going to replace him with someone who will go to work again for you."
Recall Reference
Walker, introducing Romney at the Monterey Mills factory, referred to his June 5 recall win, a vote spurred by his successful push to restrict collective bargaining rights for public-employee unions.
"It is my honor to still be the 45th governor of the great state of Wisconsin," he said. "And it's my honor to be on stage with the man I hope is the 45th president of these United States."
Before Romney's speech, he and Walker toured the unionized factory. The two men examined the company's products, including stuffing for teddy bears.
The Obama campaign called Romney's Wisconsin remarks "an exercise in angry and evasive rhetoric."
"He offered no ideas of how to create jobs now or strengthen the economy," campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith said in an e-mailed statement.
Romney was also joined by Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the House Budget Committee chairman who endorsed him in March and is often mentioned in media reports as a possible running mate. Ryan accompanied Romney on the campaign trail for five consecutive days before the April 3 Wisconsin presidential primary. A week after Romney's win in that vote, former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, his main rival in the Republican race, ended his candidacy.
Other Prospects
Ryan is the latest prospective running mate to appear with Romney during his five-day bus tour. Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, a one-time rival for the nomination, and Senator Rob Portman of Ohio campaigned with Romney over the weekend.
Romney spent the previous two days visiting small towns in Pennsylvania and Ohio, after starting his six-state tour in New Hampshire on June 15. After his stop in Wisconsin, he traveled to Iowa today, and then he ends the tour tomorrow in his native Michigan.
Aboard a riverboat on the Mississippi River this afternoon in Dubuque, Iowa, Romney continued his assault on Obama.
"As I watch what's happening in Washington today, I don't think our president understands the power of economic freedom," he told about 100 supporters gathered on the Spirit of Dubuque. "Over the last three-and-a-half years, he's done almost everything wrong when it came to getting our economy going and as a result a lot of people are suffering today.
Romney Competitive
Obama in 2008 won all six of the states on Romney bus itinerary. This year, polling shows the Republican competitive in some of them. The former private-equity executive is using the trip to try to dispel the notion that he's a wealthy candidate who lacks regular-guy credentials.
Romney's visit to Wisconsin came as Walker's win in the recall has prompted Democratic and Republican strategists to reassess the state's political landscape and the meaning of that in the presidential race.