Mitt Romney on Wednesday launched his general-election campaign,
acknowledging his expectation to "finally become the nominee" now that
Rick Santorum has left the GOP race.
Although Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul are still running against Romney,
Romney has a strong lead and Santorum was his closest competition in
the delegate count.
Santorum did not officially endorse Romney as the nominee in
suspending his campaign, but Romney said they have talked and are "on
the same page" on many issues.
"I expect when I finally become the nominee, I hope that happens soon,
that we'll be campaigning together, we'll be working together," he
said of Santorum. "The time for that will happen down the road as we
spend more time together, hit the trail together."
Santorum's press secretary earlier on CNN said Santorum "vowed" to
help Romney rally the conservative base behind him as the presumptive
nominee.
"The campaign started yesterday, the general election," Romney
continued on Fox News. He then pivoted to counter recent attacks by
President Obama's campaign, launching an aggressive push-back on
Obama's appeal to female voters — an area where Obama's campaign, along
with the Democratic National Committee, has hit him hard this month.
Romney on Fox News said "women in
particular have suffered under this presidency." His campaign has been
pushing the statistic that 92 percent of the jobs lost under Obama
were women. The statistic accounts for jobs lost since January 2009.
A
recent Gallup poll in multiple swing states showed Obama with a strong
lead on Romney among women.
He also addressed Hispanic voters, another large voting population
that has been identified as a weak area for Romney.
"Hispanics in this country did, either through their ancestors or if
they're first-generation themselves, did not come to America for a
check," he said. "They came to America for an opportunity, for a good
job and a bright future for their families."
He slammed Obama for high unemployment rates among women and Latinos
and drew a distinction between
"I don't think anyone's saying we're going to cut off people's
support. The safety net is still there, if it needs repair we're going
to do it," Romney continued. "But the right course for the American
people is not for the government to do more."
