Romney Tracker

Former GOP Candidate Romney Endorses McCain

By LIZ SIDOTI
Associated Press Writer

Republican campaign dropout Mitt Romney endorsed John McCain for the party's presidential nomination and asked his national convention delegates to swing behind the likely nominee.

"Even when the contest was close and our disagreements were debated, the caliber of the man was apparent," the former Massachusetts governor said, standing alongside his former rival at his now-defunct campaign's headquarters. "As a party, we come together."

"We all know this was a hard campaign ... and now we move forward, we move forward together for the good of our party and the nation," said McCain, who was campaigning in Vermont and Rhode Island earlier in the day and added a flight to Boston to accept the endorsement.

The two met privately before appearing together at a brief news conference.

McCain effectively sealed the nomination last week when Romney withdrew from the race; only former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and libertarian-leaning Texas Rep. Ron Paul remain. But neither has a chance to catch McCain in the convention delegate hunt.

In early primaries and caucuses, Romney collected 280 delegates. The number is enough to move McCain close to the total of 1,191 needed to clinch the nomination a full nine months before the November general election.

Romney's nod of support capped a bitter yearlong rivalry between the two men over the party's nomination. Romney criticized McCain in television ads in New Hampshire, and both candidates mixed it up almost daily during campaign events and debates. Neither is especially fond of the other.

Over the past year, Romney cast McCain as outside of the GOP's conservative mainstream and a Washington insider who contributed to the problems plaguing a broken system. McCain, in turn, argued that Romney's equivocations and reversals on several issues indicated a willingness to change his positions to fit his political goals.

The clash effectively ended on Feb. 5, when McCain won a string of big-state primaries from coast to coast.

Officials said the former Massachusetts governor made his decision to back McCain earlier in the day, citing a desire to help the Arizona senator wrap up the nomination before too much more time passed and while Democrats still did not have a nominee.

McCain is on a steady march toward amassing the 1,191 delegates he needs, but Huckabee has proven an unexpectedly durable challenger. With a strong appeal to evangelical conservatives, Huckabee defeated McCain in two out of three states that chose delegates last weekend, and ran a far stronger race than expected before losing the Virginia primary on Tuesday.

The senator began the day with 843 delegates, to 242 for Huckabee.

While Romney can ask his delegates to support McCain, he won't be able to simply hand over all 280 delegates. Many are from caucus states that won't select the actual delegates until state conventions this spring. Those delegates will be selected by people who supported Romney in the initial caucuses; the direction they go depends on whether they follow Romney's lead in endorsing McCain.

In other states, the delegates are bound to Romney, and their fate is governed by state party rules. In states like Montana, where Romney has 25 delegates, they would be free to support whomever they choose after Romney releases them.

Six of Romney's delegates are members of the Republican National Committee who continued to endorse him even after he dropped out of the race. These RNC members are free to support any candidate they choose at the convention, and not all of them appeared eager to endorse McCain,

"I will support our nominee," RNC member Diane Adams of Indiana said simply.

Other Romney supporters like Stewart Iverson in Iowa said they will work to rally others behind McCain.

"My main focus is to try to bring Republicans together and say, he may not have been our choice in the caucuses but he is where we are today," Iverson said Wednesday.

In the next round of voting, Louisiana holds a state convention Saturday in which caucus-goers will help decide how 44 of the state's 47 national convention delegates are split. At stake Tuesday in Wisconsin's primary are 40 GOP delegates.

A former Massachusetts governor, Romney suspended his candidacy last week after it became apparent that toppling McCain would be near impossible to gain the delegates needed to defeat McCain.

In a speech before conservative activists in Washington, D.C., Romney acknowledged the difficulty in overtaking McCain. "I must now stand aside, for our party and our country," he said at the time, adding that doing otherwise would increase the chances that Democrats would reclaim the White House.

At the time, Romney did not offer an endorsement, and McCain said he did not seek one when the two spoke by telephone.

Romney was the only one of McCain's main primary opponents who had resisted lining up behind the nominee in waiting; Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson both have endorsed him.

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Associated Press Writers Mike Glover in Iowa and Deanna Martin in Indiana contributed to this report.

McCain All But Clinches GOP Nomination as Romney Drops Out

By LIZ SIDOTI
Associated Press Writer

John McCain sought to mend his tattered relationship with conservatives and unify a splintered GOP as he all but clinched the party's presidential nomination Thursday. Mitt Romney, his former chief rival, dropped out, and a parade of prominent Republicans swung behind the Arizona senator.

"We're continuing campaigning and not taking anything for granted," McCain said in an Associated Press interview, still reluctant to call himself anything more than the front-runner. "I certainly think that we have enhanced our chances."

Only Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul remained in what has been a crowded and wide-open nomination fight for the past year. Both have narrow voting constituencies and are far behind in the hunt for delegates to the GOP's nominating convention this summer.

Romney's departure left McCain, whose independent streak rankles many in the Republican rank-and-file, poised to assume President Bush's position as the party standard-bearer. It was a remarkable turnaround for McCain, whose campaign was barely alive last summer, out of cash and losing staff.

"It is my sincere hope that even if you believe I have occasionally erred in my reasoning as a fellow conservative, you will still allow that I have, in many ways important to all of us, maintained the record of a conservative," McCain told a gathering of the party's influential right flank on Thursday a few hours after Romney appeared before the same group to announce he was suspending his faltering bid.

Said Romney, "I must now stand aside, for our party and our country.

"If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Sen. (Hillary Rodham) Clinton or (Barack) Obama would win."

Romney's fate had been virtually sealed earlier this week when he failed to stop McCain's coast-to-coast Super Tuesday rout in presidential primaries; McCain and Romney spoke by phone Thursday but no endorsement was sought nor offered.

With weekend contests in Louisiana and Kansas up next, McCain has secured 707 delegates, more than halfway to the 1,191 needed to win the nomination. Romney has 294 and Huckabee 195. Paul, the libertarian-leaning Texas congressman, had only 14 -- and no chance to catch McCain.

Huckabee is still mathematically viable in the race, but he will need a lot of help from Romney's supporters if he doesn't prevail in upcoming contests. Numbers aside, Huckabee also faces a steep challenge. The former Arkansas governor's primary constituency is Christian evangelicals, and he has won only in states where they dominate presidential contests -- Iowa, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, West Virginia and Georgia.

Privately, some Huckabee aides were eager to see their boss follow Romney's lead. Publicly, Huckabee showed no sign of backing down.

"I still believe that this thing is a long way from being settled. And, now that the field is down to two, our chances have substantially improved," he said in New York City.

The only other way Huckabee could seize the nomination is if conservative complaints about McCain turn into a full-scale revolt. But that doesn't appear to be happening, if McCain's reception at the Conservative Political Action Conference was any indication. Activists there seemed resigned -- if not pleased -- at the prospect of McCain's nomination.

Other Republicans said the fight was effectively over, and that Huckabee appeared to be angling more for a vice presidential slot than the top of the ticket.

"John McCain's going to Disney World," said Dan Schnur, an unaligned GOP strategist who worked on McCain's failed presidential campaign eight years ago. "Even if every social conservative in the Republican Party turns out for Mike Huckabee in the remaining primaries, he just doesn't have the credentials as an economic and national security conservative to pull this off."

As it became clear that McCain was the likely nominee, he won the support of several high-profile conservatives and members of the Republican establishment. During a vote on the Senate floor, almost every Republican lined up to shake his hand and congratulate him.

"It is now time for Republicans across the country to unite. Together, led by Sen. McCain, we will work for a better, safer, stronger America," said Ken Mehlman, a former Republican National Committee chairman.

McCain also collected the backing of former Virginia Sen. George Allen, who appeared with him at the conservative conference speech, and Texas Sen. John Cornyn. whom McCain has had heated words with over immigration.

South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, who had endorsed Romney, said conservatives "spent a lot of time criticizing Sen. McCain and not rallying around a candidate that could take us to the presidency." Now, DeMint said, conservatives must "empower Sen. McCain to carry our conservative values."

"We need him as much as he needs us," DeMint said.

Still, many conservatives remained skeptical, indicating the challenge ahead for McCain as he tries to turn out the Republican base come the fall race against Clinton or Obama.

"Most conservatives will vote for him. But 'most conservatives' is not enough to win the election, it's not enough to secure your base," said David Keene, the chairman of the American Conservative Union.

Gary Bauer, a prominent conservative and former presidential candidate, indicated that uniting the party was a two-way street, saying: "Sen. McCain will have to reach out to conservatives, and conservatives importantly will have to reach out to Sen. McCain."

Some offered an even more dour view.

"The Republican Party has left the moral conservative base adrift," said Jerome Corsi, a conservative activist.

Undeterred by such skepticism, McCain looked ahead to the fall campaign and saw his speech as a starting point to unite the GOP.

"I know I have a responsibility, if I am, as I hope to be, the Republican nominee for president, to unite the party and prepare for the great contest in November. And I am acutely aware that I cannot succeed in that endeavor, nor can our party prevail over the challenge we will face from either Sen. Clinton or Sen. Obama, without the support of dedicated conservatives," McCain said in a speech greeted alternatively with boos and cheers.

After it, McCain told the AP: "There's a lot of work to do. But I thought this was a very good beginning and I'm confident by this reception that we can continue successfully to unite the party."

Associated Press Writers Jim Kuhnhenn, Stephen Ohlemacher, Laurie Kellman in Washington and Eric Gorski in Denver contributed to this report.

McCain, Romney in Dustup Over Dole

By GLEN JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Former Sen. Bob Dole, the failed Republican presidential candidate in 1996, became the focus Tuesday of an increasingly testy exchange between GOP presidential contenders John McCain and Mitt Romney.

The tit-for-tat began with Dole coming to the aid of McCain, a fellow war hero and former Senate colleague, in a letter to conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh. He has relentlessly criticized the front-running Arizona senator as insufficiently conservative.

Before long, McCain was claiming Romney disparaged Dole and should apologize.

Romney countered that he had nothing to apologize for, but nonetheless, he tried from his campaign plane to phone Dole.

In a letter released by McCain's campaign Monday, Dole wrote Limbaugh: "I know that you have serious reservations about Senator McCain."

"McCain is a friend and I proudly wore his POW bracelet bearing his name while he was still a guest at the 'Hanoi Hilton.' I believe our major candidates are mainstream conservatives. ... Whoever wins the Republican nomination will need your enthusiastic support," Dole wrote.

Asked about Dole's letter on the FOX News' "FOX & Friends" Tuesday, Romney, who has tried to portray himself as a genuine conservative alternative to McCain, responded: "It's probably the last person I would have wanted write a letter for me. I think there's a lot of folks who tend to think that maybe John McCain's race is a bit like Bob Dole's race. That it's the guy who's next in line, the inevitable choice."

McCain lost no time in jumping on Romney's critique of Dole.

"I think he should apologize," McCain told reporters aboard his campaign plane. "This is no way to end his campaign, by attacking a genuine American war hero." Dole was wounded in Europe during World War II and lost most of the use of one arm.

Romney, seeking to win delegates at the state GOP convention here, declined McCain's invitation to apologize. He said his remark was being misconstrued as an attack on Dole's heroism when it was focused on the history of the 1996 presidential race.

Referring to Dole as "an American hero, a war hero, a fine man and a great leader of our party," Romney told reporters: "I do not think highly of the mental set that says we should choose our nominee based on how many years they've served and how long they've waited in line."

Romney said the choice should be made on vision, values, energy, passion and the ability to change Washington, "and I think I win that battle."

Romney nevertheless tried to reach Dole at his office, leaving a message for him. He showed no such impulse toward McCain.

An aide to the Arizona senator distributed a leaflet to reporters covering Romney's convention speech here that listed supposed flip-flops by the former Massachusetts governor.

Asked about the document during a news conference, Romney said: "What you have in your hand simply is not accurate, and Senator McCain has proven that he will say anything to win this election."

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Associated Press Writer Libby Quaid in Newark, N.J., contributed to this report.

Romney's Economic Turnaround Claims Clash with Record in Mass.

By STEVE LeBLANC
Associated Press Writer

It's part of Mitt Romney's core narrative: Massachusetts, in the throes of a fiscal freefall, fell back on his CEO skills and turnaround wizardry to spark -- in his words -- "a dramatic reversal of state fortunes and a period of sustained economic expansion."

It's a rosy opinion of Massachusetts' economy that few in the state share. Instead, observers say, the state's recovery from a disastrous 2001 recession has been tepid at best, and Romney gives himself more credit than deserved on job creation and balancing the state budget.

Romney says that by the time he left office, the unemployment rate in Massachusetts was lower and the state had recovered nearly 80,000 jobs from the low point of the recession.

A fuller look reveals a state still struggling to recoup the jobs washed away in the recession, while much of the rest of the country has already sailed past pre-recession highs.

According to state unemployment numbers, the net number of jobs added during the four years Romney was in office was 24,400 -- a fraction of the total of about 200,000 lost during the recession.

Although the number of new jobs steadily climbed during Romney's four years in office -- from a loss of 54,700 in his first year to a gain of 34,700 in his final year -- most of the rest of the country rebounded much faster.

Massachusetts is one of just six states that hasn't added back all the jobs lost during the recession.

"Our losses were steeper, and our gains have been slower and as an end result we are still nearly 100,000 jobs down," said Dana Ansel, research director for the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth, a nonpartisan think tank.

The state's unemployment numbers also showed little movement during Romney's tenure.

In December 2002, as Romney prepared to step into office, Massachusetts unemployment rate stood at 5.6 percent, slightly lower than the national unemployment rate of 6 percent.

By December 2006 -- Romney's last full month in office -- national unemployment had fallen to just 4.5 percent while Massachusetts unemployment numbers had inched down to 5.2 percent.

"We've had a very slow economic recovery and we've trailed most of the rest of the nation," said Michael Widmer, president of the business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. "It's not the turnaround he's advertised."

Another key Romney claim was that he was able -- through a mix of spending cuts and fiscal discipline -- to close a nearly $3 billion budget gap he inherited as he walked into office.

While fiscal watchdogs also pegged the budget gap at about $3 billion, they point out that Romney also inherited something else -- revenues from a massive $1.1 billion package of tax increases passed by the Democrat-controlled state Legislature the year before he took office.

A spike in revenues in his first year in office helped cut that deficit nearly in half.

"He was lucky. He dodged a bullet," said David Tuerck, executive director of the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University. "If he was in office a year earlier, he would have faced a very difficult choice."

Another of Romney's key, and most contested, economic claims is that he was able to close the $3 billion hole without raising taxes or increasing debt.

Critics have been quick to point out that while Romney opposed any broad-based taxes, he hiked business taxes by about $300 million by closing so-called tax "loopholes" -- and would have raised even more until pressure from business leaders forced him to cut one of the proposed loophole closings in half.

He also pushed through a broad series of new and higher fees that brought in an additional $260 million during his first year.

Observers say Romney can claim some legitimate fiscal successes -- vetoing spending increases, fighting against tax increases, and helping lure some businesses to Massachusetts, including a new facility being built by Bristol-Myers Squibb.

"The economy when Mitt Romney left was clearly not where any of us wanted it to be, but it was headed in the right direction," said state Rep. Brad Jones, the Republican leader in the Democrat-controlled Massachusetts House and a supporter of Romney. "Clearly it's accurate that the economy turned around from where it was and where it was headed."

But many in Massachusetts, including business leaders, say they see in Romney's legacy a history of missed opportunities.

When he was running for governor, Romney pledged to be the state's salesman-in-chief, luring companies to the struggling state.

That role shifted as he eyed a run for president and tried to distance himself from Massachusetts' liberal reputation.

"Unfortunately, he spent a lot of time out of state and as his preliminary campaign started he spent a lot of time badmouthing and making fun of the state," said Brian Gilmore, executive vice president of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, which represents 7,000 businesses and employers.

"I certainly didn't think that helped," he said.

Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said Romney critics are relying on "convenient memories" to downplay Romney's success rescuing Massachusetts' economy at a time of crisis.

"The Massachusetts economy was a basket case when Mitt Romney took office," Fehrnstrom said. "Gov. Romney stopped the job losses, and turned the economy around so that by the time he left office the state was adding thousands of jobs every month.

"Under Mitt Romney, unemployment went down, jobs went up and hundreds of companies expanded or moved to Massachusetts," he added.

Tuerck of the Beacon Hill Institute agreed the state's economy was in dire shape when Romney took office and he credits him for resisting broad tax increases, but he said Romney can't claim credit for restoring the state to full fiscal health.

"It's an exaggeration to say it is a sustained economic recovery," Tuerck said. "No one should think that he was responsible for turning the state from a basket case to a poster child for economic recovery."

Romney Says He and Brady Exchanged E-Mails

By GLEN JOHNSON
AP Political Writer

Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney watched with elation and then heartbreak as his New England Patriots pulled ahead but then blew a last-minute lead on Sunday to lose the Super Bowl to the New York Giants.

"You stay here and watch the celebration; I'm going to bed," the former Massachusetts governor told his traveling press corps after watching his hometown team lose upon arriving in Tennessee from Missouri.

Putting on his analyst cap, he added: "It was (Giants quarterback Eli) Manning breaking loose of that sack and throwing the ball that was the play that did it." On the play Romney described, Manning escaped the grasp of several Patriots defenders before heaving the football 32 yards to receiver David Tyree.

It resulted in a first-down on the Patriots' 14-yard line with 40 seconds left.

At the time, Romney told the crowd, "That's trouble. That's trouble right there."

Four plays later, he sat silent, decked in a Super Bowl cap, as the Giants celebrated the 13-yard winning pass from Manning to receiver Plaxico Burress.

Romney had been festive upon arrival at the Hilton Garden Inn after a short flight from Missouri, where he watched the game's kickoff at a party in the St. Louis suburb of Maryland Heights.

He was touched each place, as well as Minnesota and Illinois, on Sunday as he made his own last-ditch effort to catch GOP front-runner John McCain in the 21 states voting on Super Tuesday.

His close friend and former business associate, Bob White, had beer, pizza and a bag of Super Bowl hats waiting for the arriving travelers. Romney, who eschews liquor for religious reasons, drank spring water.

The excitement heightened when the Patriots took a 14-10 lead late in the fourth quarter, but the cheers turned to groans as Manning led the Giants down the field for the winning score.

Asked if he saw a political metaphor in the seesaw game, Romney quickly said, "No," before adding, "I'll tell you when the game is over."

After the loss, he shook the hands of reporters from The New York Times and New York Daily News, each of whom he had given Patriots hats in Missouri in an attempt to turn their allegiance.

Earlier in the day, Romney revealed that he and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady exchanged e-mails on Saturday.

He said the two didn't talk politics, but simply well wishes in their respective competitions.

Romney wouldn't say how he had Brady's e-mail but that he sent him a message on his Blackberry and Brady replied with kind words.

Romney said: "He's not endorsing anybody. For all I know he's a fan of somebody else."

Waving his Blackberry, Romney joked that he sent Brady a couple of plays.

Then he added: "I wish he'd send me a couple of plays."

Romney Says Huckabee Should Drop Out

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is calling on Mike Huckabee to drop out of the race.

Romney has recently expressed concern that Huckabee will peel off enough conservatives to deprive him of victory over John McCain in Super Tuesday's Republican nomination contests in 21 states.

Huckabee, appearing on CNN, says the suggestion was "ludicrous," noting that only a fraction of the delegates needed to win the Republican presidential nomination had been apportioned thus far.

He also says Romney is the one who needs to drop out.

Romney, on ABC's "This Week" also criticized John McCain for not understanding the economy.

McCain told "Fox News Sunday" that he would veto any tax increase passed by a Democratic-controlled Congress. McCain says Congress should make President Bush's first two tax cuts permanent, and that there also should be further tax reductions for business investments.

McCain is stumping in Connecticut.

Romney Wins Maine Caucuses

By GLENN ADAMS
Associated Press Writer

Mitt Romney coasted to a win in presidential preference voting by Maine Republicans on Saturday, claiming his third victory in a caucus state and fourth overall.

The former Massachusetts governor had 52 percent of the vote with 68 percent of the towns holding caucuses reporting. John McCain trailed with 21 percent, Ron Paul was third with 19 percent, and Mike Huckabee had 6 percent. Undecided votes accounted for 2 percent.

The nonbinding votes, the first step toward electing 18 Maine delegates to the Republican National Convention, took place in public schools, Grange halls, fire stations and town halls across the state.

The Associated Press uses presidential preferences expressed in those caucuses to project the number of national convention delegates each candidate will have when they are chosen at Maine's state convention, calculating that Romney will wind up with all 18 delegates when all is said and done.

Campaigning in Minnesota, Romney noted that his victory in Maine came despite McCain's endorsement by the state's two U.S. senators.

"The people of Maine joined those from across the nation in casting their vote for conservative change in Washington ... Like many Americans, the people of Maine are tired of Washington promises made but broken," Romney said in a statement.

The fight for delegate support in Maine came just ahead of Super Tuesday, giving candidates a chance to build momentum for the upcoming contests in more than 20 states.

Most of Maine's caucuses were held Saturday but a scattering of towns will hold theirs Sunday and later in the month. Party leaders were delighted with the heavy turnout, which they said was driven by the most hotly contested race in two decades.

Besides Paul, who visited Maine on Monday, Romney was the only candidate to show up or send a surrogate to campaign as the caucuses drew close. His oldest son Tagg campaigned Friday and appeared at caucuses Saturday.

Romney has also won in the caucus states of Nevada and Wyoming, and finished first in Michigan's primary.

Kim Pettengill, a party activist for more than three decades, said Saturday's was the largest Kennebec County caucus turnout since 1980, the year Ronald Reagan won his first GOP nomination for president.

Party Executive Director Julie O'Brien said other counties reported similarly heavy turnouts.

Overall, the AP tracks the delegate races by projecting the number of national convention delegates won by candidates in each presidential primary or caucus, based on state and national party rules, and by interviewing unpledged delegates to obtain their preferences.

In some states, like Iowa, Maine and Nevada, local precinct caucuses are the first stage in the allocation process. The AP uses preferences expressed in those caucuses to project the number of national convention delegates each candidate will have when they are chosen at county, congressional district or state conventions.

The Maine Democrats hold their presidential preference votes at municipal caucuses on Feb. 10.

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Associated Press Writer David Sharp in Portland, Maine, contributed to this report.

Kevin McHale Donates to Romney's Presidential Campaign

Mitt Romney is counting another former Celtics great among his supporters.

Kevin McHale was among those attending a fundraiser for the Republican presidential contender on Saturday night in Minneapolis.

He joins Danny Ainge, who has already maxed out as a Romney contributor.

Ainge and McHale were teammates on Boston Celtics teams that won two world championships during the 1980s.

Ainge remains with the Celtics as the team's executive director of basketball operations, while McHale is vice president of basketball operations for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Romney was in Minnesota raising money and addressing a rally before the state holds a presidential caucus on Tuesday.

Huckabee Criticizes Romney's Changes on Conservative Issues

By RON JENKINS
Associated Press Writer

Republican Mike Huckabee on Friday defended his previous remark that Mitt Romney didn't reach "political puberty" until recently, saying he was referring to his presidential rival's change of heart on key issues.

Romney said humor has its place, but added that the race for president should be a more serious matter.

Speaking to 600 supporters jammed into a restaurant-bar in Oklahoma City, Huckabee said he has been consistent on issues dear to conservatives such as abortion, gun control and gay rights, while Romney has shifted his positions.

Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, was once "very pro choice" and supported "strong positions for same-sex-relations," Huckabee said.

"He said on television that he would do more for the gay-lesbian agenda than Ted Kennedy. That's pretty bold. He said on television that he was not part of the Reagan Revolution, said that he was not part of that Reagan-Bush thing. That's on camera."

The former Arkansas governor made the "political puberty" remark Thursday on MSNBC: "Here's a man who didn't hit political puberty in the conservative ranks until 60 years old," Huckabee said.

On Friday, Huckabee said Romney claims to be a gun rights backer but cannot be a "true Second Amendment" supporter because he supports an assault weapons ban.

"I think you can't just have a change of opinion on fundamental issues over and over and wait until you're running for president to do it," Huckabee said.

"To say you never thought about the origins of human life until you were nearly 60 years old, I find that hard to believe, even for someone who hadn't run for public office," he added.

Romney, speaking to reporters Friday in Denver, said: "Gov. Huckabee is always good for a good chuckle. That's another good chuckle.

"I think the presidency is about something very serious," Romney said. "And while there's occasionally a time of natural humor, I think the presidency is more serious than that comment suggests."

Earlier Friday, Huckabee appealed to his Oklahoma supporters to spread the word that he is the most conservative candidate in the race and more attuned to their values. He said his anti-abortion beliefs and his "fair tax" proposal are resonating with voters in states in the South and Midwest.

Huckabee has proposed shutting down the Internal Revenue Service and funding the federal government with a 23 percent national sales tax.

After winning Iowa on Jan. 3, Huckabee has lost six straight nomination contests and his campaign is rapidly fading.

Romney -- who won Michigan and Nevada, but lost New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida to John McCain -- expressed concern earlier this week that Huckabee will peel off enough conservatives to deprive him of victory over McCain in next week's Super Tuesday Republican nomination contests in 21 states.

"I think what will happen across the country is that conservatives will give a good thought to whether or not they want to hand the party's nomination over to Sen. McCain. He has not been their champion over the last several years," Romney said the morning after losing Florida to McCain in a hard fought contest.

"I think there will be a movement within the Republican party to coalesce around a conservative candidate," he said. "Mike Huckabee, of course, might stay in, and that might be one of the reasons he does so is to try and split that conservative vote."

After Loss in Florida, Romney vows to Carry On to Super Tuesday

Republican Mitt Romney, his family and supporters vowed to carry his campaign into the vote-rich Super Tuesday contests next week after narrowly losing Florida's primary to rival John McCain.

In his concession speech Tuesday night, Romney issued a call to arms to conservatives to support him, vowing to cut federal spending, end illegal immigration and teach children "that before they have babies, they should get married."

But it was his wife, Ann, who took the microphone after Romney delivered nine minutes of prepared remarks, who explained the reasons for continuing.

"We feel as though the conservatives are starting to rally around Mitt," she said, as her husband stood beside her. "This is just a send-off point; this is not an end. It's another beginning. We have 22 more states to go after, and we will be able to do that."

The defeat marked the fourth time the former Massachusetts governor and the Arizona senator had gone head-to-head in a major contest, with McCain winning as he had earlier in New Hampshire and South Carolina. Romney claimed victory in his native state of Michigan.

Romney's team believes that as the field narrows, most likely next with the departure of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Romney's ability to raise money and spend his millions will allow him to better highlight the contrast between his business background and McCain's long tenure in a Washington.

There are 21 GOP contests on the ballot on Feb. 5, with 1,023 delegates at stake. A total of 1,191 are needed for the GOP nomination.

It was the contrast in backgrounds that Romney highlighted in a concession speech that otherwise echoed familiar themes from the trail, as if the loss presented no jeopardy to the future of his campaign.

"At a time like this, America needs a president in the White House who has actually had a job in the real economy," Romney said, adding that "at a time like this, knowing how America works is more important than knowing how Washington works."

As the audience cheered, he declared: "Washington is fundamentally broken, and we're not going to change Washington by sending the same people back, just to sit in different chairs. I think it's time for the politicians to leave Washington and for the citizens to take over."

Despite Romney's upbeat posture, the loss was a setback.

As the former venture capitalist had done in earlier contests, Romney spent the most on television advertising of any GOP candidate in Florida. His staff was stocked with aides to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a veteran of state politics who secured a win for his brother, George W. Bush, in the disputed 2000 election.

In addition, with McCain winning all 57 of Florida's convention delegates, Romney ceded a major talking point: He no longer has the most delegates in the field. Romney began the evening with a 59-26 lead over McCain; McCain ended it ahead 83-59.

McCain gained late momentum with endorsements from Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., the state's top elected Hispanic leader, and Republican Gov. Charlie Crist.

He also made use of one of Romney's campaign tactics, running negative radio and Internet ads against his rival and fielding calls that accused Romney of favoring taxpayer-funded abortion. McCain also claimed Romney supported a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. Romney had not.

From Florida, Romney was headed to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., for a debate Wednesday night. He also planned two days of politicking in the state and a series of fundraisers from Beverly Hills to Sacramento.

He was stopping in Salt Lake City on Saturday to attend the funeral of Gordon B. Hinckley, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who died Sunday. Romney is trying to become the first Mormon elected president.

After that, the schedule most likely will include stops in Colorado, Georgia and other states before concluding on Tuesday in Massachusetts, one of the Feb. 5 states.