In the final sprint before Election Day, Mitt Romney’s closing argument comes with a heavy helping of bipartisanship and a dash of local flavor.

As Mr. Romney rattled off plans to give the economy a jolt by increasing energy production, cutting taxes on small businesses and improving the education system, he said it would take both parties to get there.

He and his running mate, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, “are going to have to do what we’ve done before, which is reach across the aisle,” Mr. Romney said. “We have to build bridges to people in the other party. We have to recognize this is not a time in America for us to pull back, and to divide and to demonize. It’s a time in America for us to come together, to look for common ground, for places where we have agreement.”

Mr. Romney is locked in a tight race in Florida with President Barack Obama, an important swing state for both sides but one that plays a particularly prominent role in the Republican’s path to victory.

In front of a crowd of thousands – many of whom appeared to be Romney loyalists based on their calls of “We want Mitt” – Mr. Romney instead directed his message to those voters at home who have been disappointed by Mr. Obama but are still on the fence.

But as Election Day nears and the fiscal cliff looms, the complicated realities of governing are also coming into clearer focus.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who joined Mr. Romney on the stump Saturday and chatted with reporters on the campaign plane, made clear that legislative progress would be challenging unless Republicans could also win control of the Senate.

“Voters understand that electing Mitt Romney but allowing the Senate to remain in the hands of a Democratic majority means many of the things our country desperately needs aren’t going to happen,” Mr. Rubio said. “There is going to be no tax reform, there is going to be no repeal and replacement of Obamacare, there is going to be no regulatory reform, there is going to be no energy reform if the Democrats control the majority in the Senate.”

And the Obama campaign quickly responded to Mr. Romney’s bipartisan overtures with sharp skepticism...

One message absent from Mr. Romney’s speech Saturday: A reminder to vote early. While politicians that introduced Mr. Romney prodded the crowd to take advantage of early voting – which began Saturday in Florida – Mr. Romney was silent on the issue.

Still, aides to his campaign said they feel confident about the Republican’s standing in Florida compared to Mr. Obama’s. “The best way to put it is: In Florida I’d rather be us than them,” Mr. Rubio added.

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