Huge Crowd Greets Romney In Idaho Falls

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney visited southeastern Idaho and was greeted by what is reportedly one of the largest rallies yet on his campaign trail.

The former Massachusetts governor turned Skyline High School into a political battleground Thursday afternoon.

Several thousand people showing up, there was a lot of energy in two gyms at Skyline. Romney supporters packed every nook and cranny of Skyline?s smaller gym, overflowing into the larger gym next door.

A national reporter who had been following the Romney camp since July said it might be the biggest crowd he had seen.

?Grizzly basketball games must be something in here, I?ll tell you,? Romney said at the beginning of his speech as the crowd roared. ?That kind of cheering is exciting.?

Wearing his staple shirt and jeans, Romney took the stage five minutes early.

He?s the first GOP candidate to campaign in southeastern Idaho, just days ahead of Super Tuesday. The gesture was not lost on his supporters.

?I think it?s great that he came,? said Brigham Young University-Idaho student Rebekah Ort. ?It?s really cool to be able to see them and what they?re going for and be part of the political process.?

?It?s exhilarating that he respects us enough to come right here to Idaho Falls,? said Idaho Falls voter Wade Hillebrant.

With 32 delegates at stake, Idaho is a worthy prize in a tight race. As Hillebrant recently learned, that?s more than Arizona.

?We typically think of Idaho as, well, we?re the little guy, all this campaigning (is) going to big population centers,? said Hillebrant.

Just days after Romney narrowly defeated Rick Santorum in his home state of Michigan, Romney saved all jabs for President Obama.

?This president has failed,? Romney said. ?The president is out of ideas, out of excuses and in 2012, he?s going to be out of work.?

Voters in the crowd said what draws them to Romney is his business background. They said they believe him when he said he would get America back to work.

?Business, government, he?s got strong feet in both camps,? said Hillebrant. ?He knows how it works. I really think he?s the man to make the country work better.?

Ron Paul, who also has his eye on the GOP nomination, will be in the Civic Auditorium in Idaho Falls at 7 p.m. Monday.