Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) predicted Tuesday that Mitt Romney would win Ohio, shrugging off rallies in Midwestern battlegrounds where music icon Bruce Springsteen joined President Obama.
The prominent Romney surrogate said on MSNBC that the Obama campaign might have the "Boss," as Springsteen is known, but the Romney campaign has more enthusiastic voters.
"They had the Boss yesterday; we had the passion," Portman said. "As you know, at the end of the day, if you've got a grassroots machine in place, which we do, and you've got the energy and enthusiasm, it gives you an advantage. So I think we're going to win Ohio. I think it'll be narrow. I think we're going to pick up Ohio and, as they say, so goes the country."
Recent polling has shown President Obama with a slim but consistent lead in Ohio.
The Romney campaign has two appearances scheduled in Ohio on Election Day. Both Romney and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Romney's vice presidential nominee, are scheduled to appear in Cleveland.
When he voted early Tuesday morning, the former Massachusetts governor was asked how he felt about his chances in Ohio.
"I feel great about Ohio," Romney said.
Both campaigns have made a push to capture the crucial swing-state's 18 electoral votes, headlining rallies there this weekend. Springsteen appeared alongside rapper Jay-Z in Columbus to introduce Obama a day earlier.
