Romney campaign returns to Granite State where it began

Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney's last full day of campaigning for the 2012 presidential race will take him Monday night to the battleground state where his quest began: New Hampshire.

For Doug and Stella Scamman, it's only fitting that Romney's election eve politicking includes their home state. They hosted his June, 2011 campaign launch, at their sprawling farm in Stratham.

"Mitt Romney was the best person and the best qualified," Stella Scamman said in a telephone interview. "From Day One, we have been with him."

President Obama leads Romney by an average of about 2 percentage points in New Hampshire, according to recent statewide polls compiled by RealClearPolitics. The GOP standard-bearer is a known quantity to Granite State voters, spending his summers with his family at their vacation home near Lake Winnipesaukee and from his days as governor of neighboring Massachusetts.

Romney's New Hampshire event is a rally in Manchester featuring Kid Rock, whose song Born Free has been the GOP nominee's campaign anthem. The Associated Press reports Romney is considering making an additional trip to Ohio on Tuesday.

Doug Scamman, a former speaker of the New Hampshire House, and his wife, also an ex-legislator, backed Rudy Giuliani in the 2008 GOP primaries. After checking out the 2012 crop of Republicans and hearing from Massachusetts lawmakers about Romney's record in the Bay State, the Scammans decided that Romney's business, government and Olympics experience would serve him well in the White House.

Hundreds of people flocked to the Scammans' property on that June day last year to hear Romney outline his vision and criticize Obama for having "failed America."

The old dairy farm, formerly known as the Bittersweet Farm, includes more than 200 acres in conservation and 40 acres for growing vegetables and where the Scammans' house and barn are located.

Supporters waved American flags as Romney spoke, and Ann Romney helped serve chili to the guests. Her recipe, along with pictures from the campaign launch, are featured in Stella Scamman's cookbook that came out last year.

Today, Stella Scamman says people who drive by the property mistake it as Romney's state campaign headquarters because their support for the candidate is readily apparent. She estimates as many as five people a day stop by the house, asking where to get similar yard signs.

Doug Scamman says he believes the race will come down to the economy, just as Romney noted on his farm last year.

"The country needs someone who can go in and be able to get efficiencies built into the government and work with all the people," Scamman said. "He can make things happen."

Source:- http://www.usatoday.com