WEST HAZELTON, Penn.—Mitt Romney takes his bus tour to Pennsylvania Saturday, hoping to turn the focus back to the economy after a day in which his message was largely overshadowed by President Obama's immigration decision.
The Republican nominee will begin his day by touring a casting and machine company in Weatherly, located in a rural eastern part of the state. He'll then make his way west, stopping at a WaWa convenience store in Quakertown and an old iron furnace in Cornwall that is a national historic landmark.
Romney's tour takes him through the heart of a state Obama won in 2008—and where the president still remains strong politically today. A Quinnipiac poll released last week found Obama with a 6-point lead over Romney in the state—a number fueled largely by Obama's popularity with women and self-described independent voters in the state.
But Romney aides believe there's a potential opening for the GOP candidate in the state, which has been hit hard by the struggling economy. Still, while Pennsylvania has always been an attractive target for GOP candidates, no Republican has won the state since 1988.
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Romney's Pennsylvania tour is day two of a five-day trip through six battleground states. He launched the tour in New Hampshire on Friday. On Sunday, he heads to Ohio. He'll visit Wisconsin and Iowa on Monday, before ending up in his home state of Michigan.