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Utah's delegation to the Republican National Convention hosted Mitt Romney at its breakfast meeting this morning.
One thing Romney wanted to tell delegates was to let go of their support of him and throw it behind the McCain-Palin ticket.
Utah Republicans overwhelmingly supported Romney in the primary: He got 90 percent of the vote. Today he asked delegates to support him by supporting John McCain.
Romney showed up at the breakfast full of energy as usual. He knows Utah isn't just any red state. It's "dark red," he says.
Romney reassured delegates that supporting McCain would be supporting the things that he himself believes in.
Regarding the war, the economy, and social issues, the differences between McCain and Barack Obama are stark, he says.
Afterward, in a press availability, we asked him about McCain's running-mate pick, Sarah Palin. Romney said there are no hard feelings there, either. In fact, he is enthusiastic.
"I would have loved to have been on the ticket, but when you lose, you lose," Romney said. "And so you go on to support people who won, if you believe in the things you believe in. And there's no question that the views and values put forth by John McCain and Gov. Palin are the views and values I share."
State party Chairman Stan Lockhart says he's not sure if there will be holdout supporters for either Romney or Ron Paul during the roll call vote. But he's confident there will be Republican Party unity in the end.
Romney is campaigning for other candidates, as well, while in Minnesota. He plans to stick around for McCain's acceptance speech, which we understand will be at the Excel Energy Center this week.
E-mail: rpiatt@ksl.com
