Romney makes fifth trip to Iowa

The Republican governor calls the state a potential election bellwether during events in Cedar Rapids.

By THOMAS BEAUMONT

REGISTER STAFF WRITER

July 30, 2006 - Des Moines Register

Iowa could be the nation's bellwether state in the 2008 presidential election, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said at the outset of his fifth trip to Iowa as a potential candidate for the Republican nomination.

"It's a purple state and will decide potentially who the next president is, not just in the nomination process but in the general election," Romney said in a Des Moines Register interview

Perhaps no city in the country was deeper purple - referring to the mix of the red and blue colors used to identify states as Republican and Democrat respectively - than Cedar Rapids on Saturday…

Resuming political travel after a two-week hiatus does not take his attention away from the tunnel's repairs, Romney said…

"I've long thought the Big Dig was poorly managed, overwhelmed with patronage and waste, and I've wanted responsibility to clean it up," said Romney, who is not seeking a second term this fall. "The project is now complete, but I'll finally get my hand at assuring that it's safe."