Romney opens Harrisburg headquarters

With the primary less than 20 days away, the presidential candidates are staking their claims on campaign headquarters in Pennsylvania.

Front-runner Mitt Romney has breezed through Harrisburg Thursday to christen his capital city campaign headquarters and “aw-shucks” his way along a rope line of supporters.

“Mitt! You’re going to be the next president!” shouted a supporter.

“I sure hope so,” Romney responded.

Standing outside the new headquarters, Romney greeted a crowd of people stopped outside the venue by the candidate’s security detail.

“I understand there’s not enough room for everybody to come inside. The roof is going to crush if you come down. So thanks for coming down, so thanks for coming down,” he said. “Wish you could come inside. You could hear me speak for an hour or two.”

Over at the Obama for American campaign headquarters in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Democratic Party spokesman Mark Nicastre says the Obama campaign’s state headquarters are in Philadelphia, but it’s important to have an outpost in the midstate, as well.

“You saw the motivation and the enthusiasm in 2008 that really translated into a lot of fieldwork on behalf of the president and on behalf of a lot of Democratic candidates here in Pennsylvania,” he said.

GOP contender Rick Santorum’s campaign has not laid out specific plans for a central Pennsylvania campaign headquarters.

The former Pennsylvania U.S. senator says he expects to win on April 24, while Romney has said Pennsylvania is a critical state for his campaign.