DENVER - Three of the four Republican candidates for president visited Colorado Monday, trying to pin down support in Tuesday's precinct caucuses.
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Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich all stopped in Colorado for campaign events Monday. Only Ron Paul was absent from the state on the eve of the caucus.
Republicans say they've been getting plenty of phone calls in recent days from campaigns seeking their support. Tuesday's precinct caucuses are nonbinding, but they can show support for the various campaigns.
Romney drew the largest crowds. He hit a number of enthusiastic applause lines speaking at Arapahoe High School in Centennial. Romney's speech focused on attacking President Obama, ignoring his GOP opponents altogether.
Gingrich and Santorum both attended an energy summit at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden.
Gingrich also held a rally in Golden, attended by about 200 people.
It all provided a bit of an overload, with each candidate speaking on a variety of issues.
In an exclusive interview with 9NEWS, Gingrich spoke about his position on the escalating tensions with Iran.
"I don't favor going to war with Iran," Gingrich said. "I favor a series of activities to replace the current Iranian government, because I think it is an extraordinarily dangerous government that would almost certainly wipe out Israel and that might well use nuclear weapons on American cities. But I favor use of force only as a last step, not as a first step."
In his speech to supporters, Romney stayed focused on attacking President Obama.
"[Obama] said by the way that in his first year he would pass and propose a comprehensive immigration reform plan. He didn't," Romney said. "He said he'd get unemployment below eight percent. He hasn't."
Santorum promoted development of domestic fossil fuels at the energy summit.
"We should be encouraging the free market to develop energy whether it's nuclear energy or whether it's wind or solar or whether it's coal or gas or oil," Santorum said. "They should be developed based on where the market can be driven."
Polls show Romney in the lead with Santorum likely to finish second, ahead of Newt Gingrich.
Caucus sites begin their work at 7 p.m. Tuesday across Colorado.
Romney won Colorado's caucuses in 2008. Most of Colorado's 36 delegates won't be assigned until after the state GOP assembly in April.
(KUSA-TV © 2012 Multimedia Holdings Corporation with The Associated Press)