From Zanesville, Ohio -
The last day of campaigning in Ohio seemed almost anti-climactic, as the polls showed a furious neck-and-neck race between Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, with both campaigns hoping to use a win in the Buckeye State to highlight a successful Super Tuesday.
"Look, if you do your job tomorrow, we're going to win this thing," Romney said to cheers at a small hall in Zanesville, where the former Massachusetts Governor wrapped up his Ohio campaign with his familiar stump speech.
"It's gut check time; who wants it the most," argued Rick Santorum up in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, where an overflow crowd cheered as he cast himself as the underdog in the race.
If there was news made on Monday, it mainly came from the Santorum camp, as the candidate and his handlers hammered on Romney over past statements about the individual mandate in the Obama health law, as Santorum all but called Romney a liar on the issue for saying he opposed that part of the controversial health law.
Romney meanwhile stuck with his very familiar game plan, one which resembles Big Ten football - three yards and a cloud of dust - and if you don't get the first down, then punt it deep in your opponent's territory.
For Romney, that means talking over and over about your business experience and how your opponents don't have the same background. The argument is that rookies don't make good stewards of economic growth.
While Santorum's final rally seemed to have some real zip in it, Romney's event in Zanesville was like most Romney events I have covered in the past three months - it got the job done, but it didn't seem to leave the feeling that anyone in the room would run down the street and burn a building to the ground if the candidate asked the crowd to do exactly that.
There were just no clear signs to me as to what's next in Ohio, though I have to say my gut feeling - and that of a lot of fellow scribes - is that this Tuesday reminds me a lot of last Tuesday in Michigan, where Romney came from behind to win a narrow victory.
But there is a major difference - Ohio does not have the family ties for Romney that he had in Michigan.
Mitt Romney addresses a crowd in Zanesville, Ohio, in his last rally before Super Tuesday.
Obviously, Super Tuesday is not just about Ohio, though the Buckeye State will get a lot of attention.
Let's take a thumbnail of what's ahead tonight, with delegate numbers listed for each state:
- Georgia (76) - The biggest haul in terms of delegates, but it has seen little action outside of Newt Gingrich who enjoys a home state advantage here.
- Ohio (66) - The big battleground; a Romney win here will have a lot of GOP types talking about how he's the nominee; a Santorum win might well mean a wild ride in coming weeks.
- Tennessee (58) - Rick Santorum has been ahead for weeks, but both Romney and Gingrich have been bubbling up in recent polls; Gingrich made three stops in the Volunteer State on Monday.
- Virginia (46) - With only Mitt Romney and Ron Paul on the ballot, Romney has the chance to pitch a delegate shutout against Paul in the Old Dominion.
- Oklahoma (43) - Rick Santorum is the favorite here; the question is whether Gingrich can elbow Romney out for second place in some of the congressional districts.
- Massachusetts (41) - The Bay State finally sees Mitt Romney late on Tuesday, when he will cast his primary ballot and then hold his Super Tuesday night party in Boston.
- Idaho (32) - One of three caucus states tonight, Idaho's Mormom population could provide a boost to Mitt Romney, though Ron Paul has been stumping hard here in recent days.
- North Dakota (28) - This would seem like another opportunity for Ron Paul, or Santorum or even Romney. If the anti-Romney forces want to deny Romney the nomination, they need to figure out a way to win states like this one.
- Alaska (27) - Only Ron Paul has made a personal visit to Alaska, as he went there for two rallies on Sunday. This is another toss up caucus state; Paul's forces have talked a big game about organization in caucus states, but so far haven't shown how it pays off. They have several chances on Super Tuesday.
- Vermont (17) - This should be a big win for Mitt Romney, but there was a poll last week that showed surprising strength for Santorum. Over 400 delegates are at stake - let the voting begin! I'll have more on delegates later today.
