By Rebekah L. Sanders
The Arizona Republic
Updated 38m ago
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PHOENIX – Supporters of Ron Paul booed presidential hopeful Mitt
Romney's son off the stage Saturday at the Arizona Republican Party
convention, as he sought to solidify support for his father's
nomination.
Josh Romney talks with Jack Andereck, 8, while looking at a magazine
at the Laramie County GOP County Convention in Cheyenne, Wyo.
By Brandon Quester, 2008 AP photo
Josh Romney talks with Jack Andereck, 8, while looking at a magazine
at the Laramie County GOP County Convention in Cheyenne, Wyo.
Enlarge
By Brandon Quester, 2008 AP photo
Josh Romney talks with Jack Andereck, 8, while looking at a magazine at
the Laramie County GOP County Convention in Cheyenne, Wyo.
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Hundreds of state GOP members were gathered at Grand Canyon University
to elect delegates for the national convention in July in Tampa, Fla.,
which is expected to select Mitt Romney as the official Republican
nominee to challenge President Obama.
"We cannot afford four more years of President Obama," said Josh Romney,
the third of Mitt Romney's five sons. "We need someone to step in there
and turn things around."
But Josh Romney had to stop repeatedly as people booed and yelled for
Paul, who has continued campaigning in the Republican primary. All other
challengers, including Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, have dropped
out of the race, and Romney has a commanding lead over Paul in the
estimated delegate count.
But Paul supporters have begun flooding state conventions, recently
winning control of delegate majorities in Nevada and Maine.
Josh Romney tried to appease the crowd, taking a minute to recognize his
father's former challengers.
"I recognize how hard it is to run for president, the sacrifice those
men and women made running for president," he said. "It's a great
contribution they've made to the party."
He recapped Mitt Romney's background of turning around failing
companies, rehabilitating the Salt Lake City Olympics organization and
balancing the budget as governor of Massachusetts. Josh Romney said his
dad stepped up to the added challenges of taking care of the family
after wife Ann was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
But as Josh Romney wrapped up, with an admonition to choose the
preferred slate of Mitt Romney delegates, the crowd exploded with
competing boos and cheers, cutting him short.
Some attendees said they heard Paul supporters chanting outside that
Mitt Romney is "the white Obama."
State party chairman Tom Morrissey begged for everyone to stay
respectful.
"Maybe it's going to take getting behind somebody we weren't so excited
about. … What I want is to save this country, and we've gotta do it
together. None of us gets everything we want," Morrissey said, adding,
"Keep your eye on the prize: defeating Barack Obama."
Arizona is a winner-take-all state, meaning that all of the state's
available 29 national delegates will go to one candidate. Arizona
originally had 58 delegates, but the Republican National Committee took
away half as punishment for the state's decision to break party rules
and hold its primary before March 6.
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