On Monday Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney made two campaign stops in San Diego.
Romney's first destination was in Sorrento Valley, at the medical device company NuVasive. The company makes surgical products to improve spinal care. His visit coincided with Monday's hearing of President Obama's Affordable Care Act in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Romney criticized the act, saying the regulations make it harder for businesses such as NuVasive to grow and prosper.
"What's happening today in Washington is an attack on free enterprise, an attack on economic freedom unlike anything we've seen before, partially as a result of the President, partially as a result of the perspective of the many bureaucrats," Romney said at the Sorrento Valley NuVasive headquarters.
Romney then attended a fundraiser at the U.S. Grant downtown. He met with former San Diego Governor Pete Wilson at the fundraiser.
Latino voters and undocumented youth protested Romney's visit outside the hotel in support of the Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act -- also known as the DREAM Act. The two-part legislation provides a path to citizenship to undocumented students and was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in July and October. Romney stated he would veto the act if elected president.
The San Diego Democratic Party joined Latino voters outside the U.S. Grant Hotel to protest Romney's stance on the federal budget.
The party's supporters said in a statement that this budget "would turn Medicare into a voucher program, increase health care costs on seniors by thousands of dollars, and make deep cuts to programs essential to middle-class families."
Despite criticism from the Latino community and Democrats, California voters favor Romney, according to a recent USC/Times poll. Over 40 percent of Republican voters said they would vote for Romney. Yet half of those Republican voters surveyed said they wish different candidates were running for president.
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Romney will leave for Redwood City at the end of the day, where he's expected to meet with HP President Meg Whitman at another fundraiser.
Romney's main opponent, Senator Rick Santorum, will also visit California. He was invited to visit the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield, according to the Sacramento Bee.
For more election coverage, visit our Decision 2012 page.
