One of the reasons Mitt Romney is seen as such an attractive option for McCain is his wide regional appeal (or so the story goes), not just in his home state of Michigan, but also out West, where Democrats are making a real push. The Denver Post's Karen Crummy takes a look at this:

It was Romney, after all, who beat McCain in five Western primaries.

"Romney knows the mountain West, he knows how to talk to people there and he had a strong ground troop of volunteers," said Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California and communications director for McCain's 2000 presidential campaign. ...

But in the West, those problems are molehills, not mountains. Romney raised millions of dollars in the region -- not known as a fundraising hot spot -- and Arizona, Colorado and Nevada have large Mormon populations. In GOP strongholds such as Utah and Idaho, many LDS members are expected to help in get-out-the-vote efforts in surrounding states.

"They are a group that is situated in tight social groups, . . . and many see him as a pioneer " said David Campbell, a University of Notre Dame professor. "They may mobilize to act in other important states like New Mexico, California and Colorado."

In Colorado, for instance, where Romney beat McCain by 42 percentage points, El Paso County overwhelmingly backed Romney. The county is home to Colorado Springs, a conservative epicenter for evangelical Christian organizations.