Harrisburg — Mitt Romney kept his eyes on the prize – a general election matchup with President Barack Obama – during a campaign stop in the state capital Thursday morning.

Speaking to about 75 supporters on a rooftop pavilion in downtown Harrisburg, Romney barely mentioned the upcoming Pa. primary. Not once did he mention the name of his top GOP opponent, former Pa. Sen. Rick Santorum.

“I need your help. As you know, I need to win Pennsylvania in November. I’m going to win Pennsylvania in November,” he said. He went on to praise Sen. Pat Toomey and Gov. Tom Corbett.

He spent most time talking about energy, likely to be a campaign issue given the prevalence of Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania.

“He said the other day that he’s for ‘all of the above.’ I think he’s referring to all of the things that are above the ground. He likes the wind and the solar, but he doesn’t like the stuff that’s under the ground, like coal, and oil, and natural gas.”

President Obama has likewise expressed support Marcellus shale gas drilling.

In a brief mention of the April 24 primary,

“I need you guys to get your friends to get out and vote. By the way, I need some delegates here in Pennsylvania as well,” he said. “So I want you to get out and do everything possible to get me the support I need on April 24th.”

Romney has enjoyed a surge in momentum in the state over the past week, culminating in a Public Policy Polling survey Wednesday that showed him with a 42 to 37 percent lead over Santorum.

As Romney met with supporters – including a number of prominent GOP power-brokers – the former Pa. Senator is running a shoe leather campaign in Pa., visiting diners and bowling alleys.

Meanwhile, the Democrats responded harshly to Romney’s visit. In a small press conference around the corner at Obama’s Harrisburg campaign office, Dauphin County Commissioner George Hartwick threw some heavy punches at the GOP hopeful – specifically on the issue of Medicare.

“While Mitt Romney was across the street talking to some of the one-percenters, we’re here working tirelessly to begin the process of getting a real message out to central Pennsylvanians and to Pennsylvanians in general about some of the issues that ‘Etch-a-Sketch’ Romney has been all across and all around – particularly the issue related to Medicare and related to health care.”