Rivals Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum made their final pitch to Ohio voters ahead of Super Tuesday --- the day 10 U.S. states hold nominating contests that could decide who will face President Barack Obama this November.
According to the latest surveys it's a tight race -- one poll showed Romney ahead while another showed Santorum with a small lead and a third showed a dead heat.
Romney toured a factory in the norwestern city of Canton.
SOUNDBITE: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney saying:
"I look at this campaign right now and I see a lot of folks all talking about lots of things, but what we need to talk about to defeat Barack Obama is getting good jobs and scaling back the size of government and that's what I do. What I know is the economy. I spent my life in the real economy. I understand why jobs come and why they go."
During a visit to a Christian school near Dayton, the former senator had this to say to Ohio voters.
SOUNDBITE: Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum saying:
"Don't listen to the polls. Don't listen to all the media hype and all the things about what this race is about. Just focus in on whether we want a man who can stand up and paint a very different vision for this country, someone who's got a principled record. Someone who's willing to go out and talk about all of the issue stat are confronting this country -- all of the issues, not just how we're going to manage the economy better."
A Santorum win in delegate rich Ohio --- considered the top prize of all the Super Tuesday states --- would turn the already topsy turvy race on its head.
Deborah Gembara, Reuters
