Romney asks Republicans to rally around him
(Reuters) - Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney worked on Friday to rally party leaders behind his cause and overcome lingering suspicions that he is too moderate, but failed to get all to pledge allegiance.
Romney called for unity at a Republican National Committee conference in the Arizona desert that brought together party representatives from each state, some of whom had backed one of Romney's rivals for the nomination.
In his speech, Romney kept the focus on Democratic President Barack Obama's handling of the sluggish U.S. economy. He recognized his vanquished Republican rivals, from Michele Bachmann to Rick Santorum, mentioning them all by name and thanking them for having the courage to run.
"Each one of them is going to play a vital role in making sure we win in November," said Romney. The former Massachusetts governor needs as much support as he can get from fellow Republicans in what is expected to be a tough fight with Obama as the November 6 election approaches.
Romney lagged Obama by 6 percentage points in a new NBC/Wall Street Journal survey, although a few other polls have shown him ahead.
Some Republican committee members declined to fall in line with Romney's attempts to bring the party together under his candidacy after months of bruising primary fights.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/21/us-usa-campaign-romney-idUSBRE83G1GN20120421?
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