Christie Joins Romney on Iowa Bus Tour Stop in West Des Moines

In his only bus tour stop of the day, GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, alongside his wife, Ann, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, rallied a crowd of supporters Friday morning at the West Lakes Hy-Vee Store in West Des Moines.

The crowd filled the store's parking lot waiting for the trio to appear. While the campaign schedule called for the event to begin at 8:05 a.m., it was almost 8:20 a.m. before things got under way. But that didn't seem to dampen the spirits of the chilled supporters waiting outside in the wind and rain.

Herman Blau and his daughters, Savannah, 15, and Laney, 17, drove eight hours from their Missouri home to see Romney in West Des Moines.

Wearing what he called a "vintage" stocking cap from the 2008 election, Herman Blau said he supported Romney because of his business sense.

"I own a couple small businesses and we need help," he said. "We need someone who knows what they’re doing, so that’s why I’m supporting Mitt Romney."

Crowd of Several Hundred, Most Supporters

Flanked by hundreds of sign-waving Romney fans, the businessman and former governor of Massachusetts looked relaxed and genuinely happy to be standing in the 32-degree weather that greeted him.

Christie kicked things off by praising the crowd, and more importantly Iowans, for taking their first-in-the-nation status so seriously.

He joked that if Iowans didn't make the right decision Tuesday night, he would take matters into his own hands.

"I want to tell you something," Christie said. "I’m in a good mood this morning and if you people disappoint me on Tuesday, I will be back Jersey-style, people."

After a few words from Ann Romney, Mitt Romney took the micrphone. Scanning the crowd, he called out a man holding up a large sign.

"What's that sign say? 'In Obama we trusted now our economy is BUSTED.' You got that right, brother," he said.

The Occupy DSM movement said online this morning that it had done a "mic-check" shout to stop the candidate. But, the hecklers weren't audible to the candidate across the parking lot.

The Occupy protesters shouted the same demands they made at Romney's Iowa office on Wednesday: to stop taking corporate campaign donations and to fully disclose his financial information. Police escorted the protesters off the premises.

Romney took only a few minutes to address the crowd, not touching on issues, but rather playing to an audience that was clearly already swayed his way.

"I believe this race is not just about replacing President Obama, as important as that is. It’s also about sustaining the soul of America," he said.

John Dutcher of Johnston is a longtime Romney supporter. He brought his daughter, Charlotte, 20, along to this morning's rally. It's her first year voting and caucusing.

"This is really exciting," she said. "I saw Mitt in 2007 and it’s nice to see he has the lead in Iowa. I think he has a really good chance at being our next president."

Frances Kelly of Waukee already had her mind made up. She came out in the freezing temps to get her first glimpse of the former governor of Massachusetts.

"I hadn’t seen him in person ever," Kelly said. "I'm going to caucus for him on Tuesday. I’ve got my mind made up."

Romney kicked off his Iowa Bus Tour in Davenport Tuesday evening with a stop at the Hotel Blackhawk. Since then, he's made stops at a coffee shop in Muscatine, a plastic molding manufacturer in North Liberty, Music Man Square in Mason City and a construction company in Ames. 

The latest numbers from RealClearPolitics finds Romney and Ron Paul in a dead heat, each with 21.3 percent of the vote. The tie might come as a surprise to some but Romney's lead shouldn't. He's been at or near the top since the Straw Poll, without hardly ever stepping foot in the state to campaign.

The stop in West Des Moines concludes his bus tour of the state. Romney will continue to campaign in Iowa until the morning after the Jan. 3 Iowa Caucus. Romney will begin a handful of rallies this afternoon starting at 1 p.m. in Cedar Rapids, followed by a stop in Dubuque at 5:20 p.m.