Romney in Lakeland, Fla (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
LAKELAND, Fla.—Mitt Romney wrapped up his visit to the Republican National Convention by pressing supporters to help him win over voters disappointed with Barack Obama's presidency.
Speaking at a "farewell" rally at an airport with his wife, Ann, and his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, Romney said the effort to win over former Obama supporters was particularly crucial in Florida, telling supporters that whoever wins here likely will take the presidency.
"You're going to have to go out and find a person or two who voted for Barack Obama," Romney said. "I know they are here. They are not as visible as they used to be. You can see some of the glue from the back of the bumper sticker where it used to be.
"You can find them," Romney added. "You find them and convince them to get on our team and to help us."
Echoing themes he raised in his Thursday night speech at the RNC, Romney argued that he's the person who can deliver on the promises that Obama failed to carry out after the 2008 campaign.
"He said he would be measured on whether he created jobs or not. He hasn't," Romney said. "He said he would be measured by whether people have rising incomes or not. They don't. … Almost every measure he described he has failed to perform upon."
Pointing to the speech that Ryan gave at the RNC, Romney declared, "We want to be held accountable for the promises we made last night and the night before."
After the rally, Romney and Ryan said good-bye on the tarmac, shaking hands as each headed to their new campaign planes.
The GOP ticket had been scheduled to campaign together, but Romney canceled his plans to headline a rally with Ryan in Richmond, Va. Instead, he will fly to New Orleans, where he's supposed to tour storm damage incurred by Hurricane Isaac with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. The White House announced Friday that Obama will tour the same region on Monday.