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Romney Holds Roundtable Event In Bethel Park

BETHEL PARK (KDKA) – Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney held a community roundtable event in Bethel Park Tuesday afternoon.

The event was held at the Community Center around 12:30 p.m. and topics of discussion included the economy and taxes.

Romney used Tax Day to oppose the president's plan to hike the upper income tax rate.

"When he wants to raise the tax rate from 35 percent to 40 percent, that will impact a lot of small businesses and probably lead to some businesses having to lay people off," he said.

The couples then had a chance to raise their own issues.

"I'm worried not only for my daughter's future, but for my parents' future," a female voter said. "I want them to enjoy their golden years and not have to worry about everything."

"I share the concern," Romney replied. "We got to make sure that the safety net of Social Security and Medicare and those are – we call them a safety net but they're also retirement plans – they're programs that people work for, save for, put money in – it's a support that people pay for that it's there – they're confident those programs will be there."

Romney says this election turns on the economy.

"The median income in America has dropped by 10 percent in the last four years," he said.

Romney only has a few events planned in Pennsylvania because the next week's primary is not as important anymore with Rick Santorum pulling out of the race.

Romney is expected to win the primary on April 24, along with the delegate count. Delegates are elected to the GOP convention by each of the 18 congressional districts in the state.

KDKA-TV's Jon Delano doesn't expect to see Romney return much to Pennsylvania until November's election.

Delano also said Pennsylvania is one on a list of about 12 states that Republicans see as must wins in order to win the presidency.

Only two Republicans have won a presidential election without winning Pennsylvania.

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