Romney: 'I think I'm going to be the nominee'

WASHINGTON, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- Mitt Romney expressed confidence Friday that he'll win the Republican nomination for president and called Newt Gingrich "a feisty competitor."

"I think I'm going to be the nominee," the former Massachusetts governor said.

Romney was responding to comments from Democrats that suggest they believe he will be the candidate Republicans nominate to challenge President Obama, The Hill reported.

Romney said if he did a "good job and people get behind me" he would win.

"But there's a long road ahead and Newt Gingrich is obviously a feisty competitor and we'll have a contest that I'm sure will take us down the road a ways. But I hope I become the nominee and I think I can post up well against the president," Romney said.