GOP optimistic about Romney's chances

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Republicans riding high on a string of breaks in their favor are increasingly optimistic about Mitt Romney's chances of reclaiming the White House in November, even among conservatives who had qualms about making him the party's nominee.

The bullish take is reflected in interviews with party strategists and activists, including some who supported Romney's rivals during the primaries. But some of those GOP players stress that Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, has little room for error if he expects to topple an incumbent president.

The chest-thumping follows a GOP victory in last week's Wisconsin recall election that saved Gov. Scott Walker's job. That race galvanized Republicans who saw it as an early referendum on conservative fiscal principles in an election that is likely to hinge on the shape of the economy.

Even Rick Santorum, who spent a primary season casting doubt on Romney's ability to succeed in a general election, says things are looking up.

"I can tell you, I feel a little bit better about that election since what happened on Tuesday up in Wisconsin," Santorum said Friday at a Conservative Political Action Conference in Chicago.

Some Republican voters concede they aren't as passionate about electing Romney as they are about booting President Barack Obama out of the Oval Office.

"He's obviously it, and he's what is left," FBI agent David Hirtz, an active member of his central Illinois tea party, said of Romney. "Anybody is better than Obama."

In mid-May, a USA Today/Gallup poll found 81 percent of Democrats and 58 percent of independents predicting an Obama victory. Among Republicans, 68 percent thought Romney would win, about the same percentage of faith GOP voters placed in 2008 nominee John McCain at this point in the campaign.

That was before the Wisconsin recall, the release of campaign finance figures and the latest numbers on job growth raised concerns about a slowing economic recovery, giving Romney more fodder to pound Obama's stewardship.

A conservative base that was deeply splintered during the primaries has coalesced around Romney even faster than some in the party were expecting.