Romney Endorsed by Leading Republicans Cantor, Coburn in Days Before Super Tuesday

The day after winning a symbolic victory in the Washington state caucuses, Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney picked up two new endorsements Sunday from high-profile lawmakers touting him at the only candidate that can reignite the U.S. economy.

During an appearance on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., the House's second ranking Republican, insisted Romney has the best plan to revive the economy among all of the remaining GOP candidates.

The country has got to make a choice, who is going to best be able to lead this economy back to a growth mode, create jobs so people can feel better about the future, Cantor said. [Romney] is the only one in the race who knows how to create jobs and he's the only one who has put forward a bold plan to do that.

Cantor, who said he is not interested in being considered for vice president on a Romney ticket, added a statement that has almost become a mantra among the GOP this election cycle: Romney is the only candidate who can unseat President Obama.

I think he can beat Barack Obama in November, Cantor said. He added that he has already cast a ballot for the former Massachusetts governor in Virginia, which has its primary Tuesday.

Cantor is currently the highest-ranking Republican member of Congress to endorse a presidential candidate. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has said he would not endorse a candidate before Super Tuesday.

Speaking with reporters aboard a plane to Georgia, Romney senior adviser Eric Fehrnstrom called Cantor's praise a pleasant surprise, Fox News reported.

Romney received additional backing from a key conservative Sunday when U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., praised his private sector experience in an opinion piece penned for The Oklahoman newspaper.

The endorsements from Cantor and Coburn, both well-known fiscal conservatives, should help Romney in the days heading up to Super Tuesday as some Republicans wonder whether he is too much of a moderate.

I'm proud to support Romney because he is a leader, Coburn wrote. What Romney has done in his 25 years in the private sector is precisely what we need a president to do in Washington. Romney has done hard things. He has turned businesses around, told people hard truths about what needed to be done, inspired confidence and overcome excuses. Romney is not a career politician or a career legislator. As a former governor and business leader, he is an executive who knows how to use executive power.