Despite Washington vote, focus remains on Ohio

WILMINGTON, Ohio (AP) — Republican voters in Washington state prepared to choose a presidential favorite Saturday, but candidates focused their attention on contests in 10 other states Tuesday in the battle to decide who will face President Barak Obama in November.

All four contenders have visited Washington ahead of Saturday's caucuses, but three of the four are campaigning in Ohio, the most critical primary on what's known as Super Tuesday. Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich are fighting for the state — and it promises to be another important test for Romney, who seeks to quell doubts about his candidacy from voters and the party establishment.

"Let me tell you, the other guys, they spent their lives in Washington, working in a world of influence and in some cases lobbying," Romney said of his rivals at a rally Friday night in Cleveland. "Except if you want to get the economy fixed and you want to create jobs, I think it helps to have had a job. And I have."

At stake in Washington are 40 delegates to the Republican national nominating convention this summer, a cache second only to Florida's 50 in contests thus far.

The Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses that follow stretch from Vermont to Alaska — where Texas Rep. Ron Paul was set to campaign Saturday — but the top showdown is in this industrial state, a rematch of sorts after Michigan's primary. Romney won narrowly over Santorum.

Romney, the party establishment's favorite who has struggled to win over conservatives, will carry momentum from that win and a win in Arizona.

The former Massachusetts governor flew to Ohio on Friday afternoon after a stop in Bellevue, Washington, where he held a campaign fundraiser and appeared at a rally at a community center.

Santorum, who visited Washington in February, was back Thursday for rallies in the more conservative eastern region, while Romney, who has been working to build support from establishment Republicans here and has rolled out dozens of local endorsements, hosted a high-dollar fundraiser in Bellevue, where tech giant Microsoft is based.

Their visits came on the heels of one by Gingrich, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, last week.

Washington's caucuses are the last before Super Tuesday contests in Idaho, Alaska, Georgia, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia, offering a total of 419 delegates.

Washington's caucuses are an opportunity for Paul. He's the only candidate on the air, having spent roughly $40,000 to run ads on cable channels.

In Ohio, Romney, Santorum and Gingrich plan to participate in a forum hosted by Huckabee and taping Saturday afternoon. Romney also planned events in Dayton and Cincinnati. Santorum and Gingrich were both set to speak at a Lincoln Day dinner in Bowling Green and planned other events across the state.