Romney upbeat in Florida, promises 'new course'

• Romney touring Florida with Sen. Marco Rubio and former governor Jeb Bush
• Polls show a tight race in the Sunshine state

TAMPA – Mitt Romney kept his message upbeat at the first of three stops in Florida on Wednesday, telling the crowd the country was at a "turning point" and needs a "new course" but never mentioning the president by name.

"I believe this is the year for us to take a different course, I would bring real change and real reform. I don't just talk about change, I actually have a plan to execute change," he said.

Romney adviser Kevin Madden told reporters the Republican nominee intentionally avoided mentioning the president because of the continuing rescue efforts on the East Coast. President Obama toured the devastation in New Jersey with Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday.
"Today we wanted to make sure we kept a positive tone and talked about what the governor would hope to do on Day One of his presidency," Madden said.

Romney is touring Florida with two of its biggest political stars, former governor Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. They'll make stops in Coral Gables and Jacksonville later Wednesday.

The campaign estimated 2,000 supporters crowded into an airplane hangar on the cool, cloudless morning for the rally. While the campaign resumed its regular schedule and pace, Rubio, Bush and Romney each asked supporters to remember those affected by Hurricane Sandy as screens on either side of the hanger broadcast the number to donate to the Red Cross.

"You can text the Red Cross and make your donation," Rubio said. "We have been the beneficiary of these donations in the past. Let's make sure we pay it forward for our neighbors and fellow Americans up north who are suffering."

Polls show Romney and President Obama essentially tied in the Sunshine State. The latest RealClearPolitics average of recent polls has Romney leading 49% to 48%.

Although the Romney campaign has recently touted its initiative to expand the map – running ads in states like Pennsylvania and Minnesota where Obama leads – the next six days remain firmly trained on a handful of battleground states, particularly Florida, Virginia and Ohio. Romney will have stops in the latter two states Thursday and Friday.

Madden declined to say whether Romney would travel to states like Pennsylvania in the final days of the campaign, but said that travel is only part of the equation.

"I think it's clear it's not just about travel," he said. "It's also about your resources, it's also about some of the other levers – working levers of a winning campaign. Some of that's advertising, a lot of it's grass-roots momentum."