DUBUQUE, Iowa ? Trying to stay above his party's fray, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney focused Monday on shoring up support in this early-voting state and presenting himself as the GOP's most electable alternative to President Barack Obama.
The former Massachusetts governor stressed his recent fiscal proposals and business credentials at stops in eastern Iowa's Dubuque and Scott counties, where he won during his campaign for the Republican nomination four years ago.
Romney said nothing about the latest allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior against fellow national GOP poll leader Herman Cain. Instead, Romney stuck to the script during a 15-minute speech stressing his private-sector background and proposal to trim federal spending.
He tried to remind voters with his words and campaign schedule that he is running as much against the Democratic incumbent as he is trying to distinguish himself from his GOP rivals.
"I believe that one of the reasons we've had such a hard time getting our economy going again is because of the huge deficits being racked up by this president, and by politicians in Washington," Romney told about 100 GOP activists at a Dubuque sheet-metal products manufacturer.
He said nothing about Cain or any of his rivals for the nomination.
His only mention of the nominating campaign came in an oblique reference to Iowa's leadoff nominating caucuses, for which Romney has campaigned lightly but quietly has begun paying more attention to in recent weeks.
"You guys were helpful for me last time around, and I expect you'll be helpful for me this time," he said. "I'm planning on it."
Romney has sought to more tightly control the message coming from his campaign than he did four years ago.
In Dubuque, he tested an update of his standard campaign speech, incorporating the new fiscal policy he proposed last week. In it, Romney pledges to cut $500 billion from the federal deficit in his first four years in office. "I will slay the deficit beast," he said.
He shook hands with members of the audience but answered no questions from them or the corps of local and national reporters tailing him.
Monday's visit was Romney's fourth to Iowa this year and it came 18 days after his last trip, a stark shift from his aggressive, $10 million campaign for the 2008 caucuses that ended in a disappointing second-place finish.
Aides have sought to minimize expectations this time around while quietly staying in close touch with Romney's 2008 campaign supporters in hopes of a surprise Iowa finish heading into the New Hampshire primary, where expectations for him remained high.
Romney recently said he would like to win Iowa. He has promised a more aggressive travel schedule in the final seven weeks and plans more than one telephone event where he talks to thousands of Iowans and answers questions.
Romney has polled at or near the top of surveys of likely GOP caucusgoers since entering the race in June, while GOP rivals Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry and Cain have ignited curiosity as more conservative alternatives.
He has been unable to pull away from the GOP pack but continues to pose the greatest threat to Obama in national surveys.
In a Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted last week, one-third of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents said Romney has the best chance of beating Obama in November 2012.
And Romney's path Monday, south along the Mississippi River from Dubuque to Davenport, follows the route Obama took on his national bus tour in the fall.
Besides being a key early test, Iowa has been among a handful of closely contested general election battleground states in the past three presidential elections.
Dubuque Republican Russell Fuhrman said he likes Perry, the governor of Texas, more than Romney but plans to support Romney at the caucuses.
"It's because he has the best chance of being elected," Fuhrman said. "Gov. Romney can sweep the independents. None of the other Republicans can say that."
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