Newt Gingrigh: Mitt Romney "will carry over 300 electoral votes"

(CBS News) Former Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich stood by his prediction on "CBS This Morning" Tuesday that GOP nominee Mitt Romney would win the presidency with more than 300 electoral votes and a majority of the popular vote.

Gingrich, a former speaker of the House of Representatives, and Dee Dee Myers, a press secretary in the Clinton White House, gave their final thoughts on the race for the White House as voters lined up at polls along the East Coast for Election Day.

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Before Superstorm Sandy hit the Northeast, Gingrich expected Romney to win in a landslide, and he wasn't shaken by the high approval ratings President Obama received for his handling of the federal government's response to the storm's devastation.

"At 53-47 [percentage split of popular vote], Romney will carry over 300 electoral votes," Gingrich told Norah O'Donnell and Charlie Rose.

Myers naturally disagreed with Gingrich, saying that Mr. Obama has an advantage in turning out more voters, which will result in winning him a second term.

"The numbers have been strong in the key states among the Obama voters," said Myers. "They've registered a lot more people than the Republicans, particularly in recent months, and they've turned out those low-propensity voters, people who either didn't vote in 2010 who were first-time voters in 2008, and that means today they can focus on the regular voters, the people and the Democrats that always turn out, and make sure that they get to the polls and that they get to the lines and all that."

Romney was expected to spend Election Day campaigning in Pennsylvania and Ohio, including the Democratic stronghold of Cleveland. Gingrich broke down why he thought Romney would spend the campaign's final hours in such deep-blue territory.

"By going to Cleveland, he appeals basically to large European communities," said Gingrich. "Cleveland was the second-largest Hungarian city in the world after Budapest. It is a very large Polish-American city, a very large Italian-American city, and I suspect what he's trying to do is appeal to the collar precincts of the suburbs, which are now essentially second- and third-generation Europeans who are very, very conservative in their religious values and very conservative in their attitude towards patriotism and towards the work ethic, so my guess is he's trying to offset the city of Cleveland with the rest of Cuyahoga County and the surrounding counties."

Above, watch Dee Dee Myers and Newt Gingrich take a final look at the race for the White House


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