ASHEVILLE — With mentions of Boy Scouts, Joe Biden and Big Bird, Mitt Romney's Victory Rally revved up a large and enthusiastic crowd Thursday night at the U.S. Cellular Center. Between joyous whoops and dramatic boos, nearly 8,000 people packed into the arena made their support abundantly clear throughout the night, which was studded with Republican political stars.

Romney made sure to return the favor.

"Based on what I'm seeing here this evening, I'm going to go out on a limb and say we're going to win North Carolina," he said to thunderous applause.

For 20-plus minutes, he spoke mostly of his vision for America as a whole, but Romney did make his speech local at times, mentioning his meeting with evangelist Billy Graham and thanking Western North Carolina native Ronnie Milsap for ...