Romney: Path to White House is through Pa.

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Mitt Romney predicted yesterday that he would win Pennsylvania in November's presidential election.

"I do believe that I will win Pennsylvania in the fall and winning Pennsylvania will give us the White House, so this is a critical state for me," he told reporters as he telephoned GOP voters to urge them to vote in the state's April 24 primary.

He barely mentioned his chief rival, Rick Santorum, who represented Pennsylvania in the House and Senate for 16 years, though he did try to lower expectations for a win over the home-state candidate in the primary.

"I think everybody expects someone to win his home state. Newt Gingrich won his home state, I won mine. I think people expect the senator to win his home state," Romney said in between calls.

Romney addressed a few hundred supporters on the roof of his Pennsylvania headquarters, an office in downtown Harrisburg that the campaign leased late last month.

Romney's team also announced the addition as a senior adviser of former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie, who has been providing informal advice to top Romney aides.

The former Massachusetts governor said he hoped to win all the other states that vote on April 24 -- New York, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island -- and "pick up some delegates" in Pennsylvania, giving him "an even stronger lead" in the nominating contest.

Santorum, meanwhile, has met privately with conservative leaders to craft plans to stop Romney's march to the nomination, and pressuring Newt Gingrich to leave the race is part of their strategy.

An official close to the campaign confirmed the northern Virginia meeting Thursday. Attending were fiscal and social conservatives who have long doubted Romney's conservative credentials.

The official says the group decided to apply more pressure on Gingrich, the former House speaker, to leave the contest, which could allow conservatives to unite behind Santorum. The official requested anonymity.