February 28, 2012 in News

Romney squeaks by in home-state Michigan

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitt Romney scored a hard-won, home state triumph in Michigan and powered to victory in Arizona Tuesday night, gaining a two-state primary sweep over Rick Santorum and precious momentum in the most turbulent Republican presidential race in a generation.

Romney tweeted his delight — and his determination: “I take great pride in my Michigan roots, and am humbled to have received so much support here these past few weeks. On to the March contests.”

The two other candidates, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul, made little effort in either state, pointing instead to next week’s 10-state collection of Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses.

Romney’s Arizona triumph came in a race that was scarcely contested, and he pocketed all of the 29 Republican National Convention delegates at stake in the winner-take-all state.

Michigan was as different as could be — a hard-fought and expensive battle in Romney’s home state that he could ill afford to lose and Santorum made every effort to win.

Returns from 75 percent of Michigan’s precincts showed Romney at 41 percent and Santorum at 37 percent. Paul was winning 12 percent of the vote to 7 percent for Gingrich.

Santorum was already campaigning in Ohio, one of the Super Tuesday states, when the verdict came in from Michigan.

“A month ago they didn’t know who we are, but they do now,” he told cheering supporters, vowing to stay the conservative course he has set.

In Michigan, 30 delegates were apportioned according to the popular vote. Two were set aside for the winner of each of the state’s 14 congressional districts. The remaining two delegates were likely to be divided between the top finishers in the statewide vote.

With his victory in Arizona, Romney had 152 delegates, according to The AP’s count,, compared to 72 for Santorum, 32 for Gingrich and 19 for Paul. It takes 1,144 to win the nomination at the Republican National Convention in Tampa next summer.

In interviews as they left their polling places, Michigan voters expressed a notable lack of enthusiasm about their choices. Just 45 percent said they strongly favored the candidate they voted for, while 38 percent expressed reservations and 15 percent said they made the choice they did because they disliked the alternatives.

The lengthening GOP nomination struggle has coincided with a rise in Democratic President Barack Obama’s prospects for a new term. A survey released during the day showed consumer confidence at the highest level in a year, and other polls show an increase in Americans saying they believe the country is on the right track.

Along with the improving economy, the long and increasingly harsh campaign, in which Gingrich and Santorum have challenged Romney as insufficiently conservative, has prompted some officials to express concern about the party’s chances of defeating Obama in the fall.

Exit polling showed a plurality of Republican voters in both Michigan and Arizona saying the most important factor to them in the primaries was that a candidate be able to beat Obama in November. Romney won that group in Michigan, where it mattered most, and also prevailed among voters in the state who said experience was the quality that mattered most.

Santorum ran particularly well among voters who cited a desire for strong conservatism or strong moral character.

The polls surveyed both primary day and absentee or early voters. Interviews were conducted at 30 polling places in each state. Early results from Arizona’s poll included interviews with 1,617 voters, including 601 absentee or early voters interviewed by phone. In Michigan it was 2,133 interviews including 412 absentee or early voters interviewed by telephone. The margin of sampling error for both polls was plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Not even the opening of polls on Tuesday brought an end to the squabbling between the two leading Republicans.

Romney accused Santorum of trying to hijack a victory in Michigan by courting Democratic votes through automated telephone calls and suggested his rival was appealing to conservatives by making the kind of “incendiary” statements he would not.

“I’m not willing to light my hair on fire to try and get support,” Romney said. “I am what I am.”

Santorum brushed aside the allegations of hijacking, saying Romney had appealed for support from independents in earlier states.

“We’re going to get voters that we need to be able to win this election. And we’re going to do that here in Michigan today,” Santorum said, referring to blue collar voters with a history of swinging between the parties.

The exit poll said about 10 percent of the day’s Michigan primary voters were Democrats.

If nothing else, the unexpected clash on Romney’s home field dramatized that two months into the campaign season — after nearly a dozen primaries and caucuses — the GOP race to pick an opponent for President Barack Obama remains unpredictable.

Unopposed for renomination, Obama timed a campaign-style appearance before United Auto Workers Union members in Washington for the same day as the Michigan primary. Attacking Republicans, he said assertions that union members profited from a taxpayer-paid rescue of the auto industry in 2008 are a “load of you know what.”

All of the Republicans running for the White House opposed the bailout, but even in the party’s Michigan primary a survey of voters leaving polling places showed about four in ten supported it.

Michigan loomed as a key test for Romney as he struggled to reclaim his early standing as front-runner in the race. The first of the industrial battleground states to vote in the nominating campaign, it is also the place where the former Massachusetts governor was born and where he won a primary when he first ran for the party nomination four years ago.

But Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, rolled into the state on the strength of surprising victories on Feb. 7 in caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado plus a non-binding primary in Missouri. He quickly sought to stitch together the same coalition of conservatives and tea party activists that carried him to a narrow victory in the Iowa caucuses that opened the campaign nearly two months ago.

The Michigan primary was open to Republicans or any voter who declared they were Republican for the purpose of voting, and there was precedent for an influx of outsiders influencing the outcome.

A dozen years ago, John McCain defeated the heavily favored George W. Bush, relying on the support of Michigan independents and Democrats. Exit polls then showed that Bush won 66 percent of Republican votes, while McCain won 82 percent of self-described Democrats and 67 percent of independents. Together, the non-Republican voters accounted for more than half the electorate.

In a measure this year of the state’s importance to the battle for the nomination, the two leading candidates and the super PACs that support them spent about $6 million on television advertisements, and Romney and Santorum spent much of the past 10 days crisscrossing the state in search of support.

Arizona was Romney’s to lose, judging by the behavior of his rivals, who spent little time campaigning in the state and no money advertising on its television airwaves.

In all, there were 59 delegates at stake in the two states.

Arizona awarded all 29 of its delegates to the winner of the statewide vote.

In Michigan, by contrast, 30 delegates were apportioned according to the popular vote. Two were set aside for the winner of each of the state’s 14 congressional districts. The remaining two delegates were likely to be divided between the top finishers in the statewide vote.

Romney entered the night the delegate leader in The Associated Press count.

He had 123, compared to 72 for Santorum, 32 for Gingrich and 19 for Paul. It takes 1,144 to win the nomination at the Republican National Convention in Tampa next summer.

There are 40 delegates at stake in Washington caucuses on Saturday, followed by 419 on Super Tuesday, including big state primaries in Ohio and Georgia.

Already, the television advertising wars were under way. Romney and restore Our Future, the super PAC that supports him, have spent more than $3 million combined on ads in Ohio.

In Michigan, Santorum campaigned heavily for the support of tea party activists and other non-establishment Republicans, appearing in churches at times and often dwelling on social issues, as is his custom. In a string of attention-gathering remarks in the race’s final days, he said Obama was a snob who wanted everyone to attend college, said he nearly threw up over a speech that candidate John F. Kennedy gave in 1960 about the separation of church and state, and said Romney was uniquely unqualified to defeat Obama because the two men shared so much in common on issues like health care.

The former Massachusetts governor made a play for tea party support, too, at a pair of appearances, but for the most part campaigned on his pledge to use his background as a successful businessman to help create jobs and fix the economy. Last week, he issued a call for 20 percent across-the-board cuts in personal income tax rates.

But he was hampered by off-the-cuff comments that reinforced his difficulty in reaching out to struggling voters in a state with 9.3 percent unemployment. He said at one point that his wife drives a couple of Cadillacs, and at another that he was friends with some of the owners of NASCAR teams.

At a rare news conference after the polls opened on Tuesday, he conceded that his own mistakes had hurt his campaign.

The primaries in Michigan and Arizona were the first contests since Romney squeaked out a victory over Paul in the Maine caucuses on Feb. 11, a lull of two and a half weeks.

Except for a debate in Arizona last Wednesday and a brief burst of campaigning in the hours before and after, Romney and Santorum have focused their time and campaign money on Michigan.

Polls showed Santorum racing to a large advantage after his victories on Feb. 7, before the weight of attack ads by a Romney-aligned super PAC and the candidate himself began to narrow and finally erase the gap in many surveys.

In the end, the combination of Romney and the outside group accounted for about $3.8 million in TV ads, compared to about $2.2 million for Santorum and a super PAC supporting him.

While that gave Romney an advantage, it wasn’t nearly as lopsided as in some of the earlier states.

32 comments on this story so far. Add yours!

misjustice on February 28 at 8:31 p.m.
I want to see Mitt Robme’s birth certificate. “Some people say” that he is not a natural born citizen of the US of A…
; )
His father, afterall, was not born here…
Shadedmuse on February 28 at 9:06 p.m.
Romney is such a tool, the onlly way things will get worse if Mittin’s is elected and that aint going to happen. because Mittons is clueless.
BlondeSquawker on February 28 at 9:12 p.m.
Yes, Miss J. I want to see the birth certificate as well. I personally think he was born on Mars…but that’s just me.
bdr on February 28 at 9:17 p.m.
Oh boy more of the lucky sperm club. We know GWB tried to show his daddy up, he just goofed up EVERYTHING.
just for once can we get someone running who isn’t related to a last generation congress or president
I don’t want his birth certificate I already know who his daddy is.
I prefer the Kenyan he can probably speak a few languages more than Mutt Robme.
People in brown places have more faith in America now that they see Big O running things.
richardch on February 28 at 9:18 p.m.
Obama is a shovel ready, secular fundamentalist dolt.
Dazzeetrader11 on February 28 at 9:24 p.m.
It’s simply amazing that the libs show up and call names, make up events, just live in fabricated lives.
Do you all not know the ROmeny beats Obama head to head?? DO you not understand that as soon as the other 3 candidate are gone, somebody is going to get ALL the votes.??
Obama’s a goner. I hope you dem libs have fun…it’s about over for you and Obowow.
misjustice on February 28 at 9:28 p.m.
Robme is not a natural born citizen; show me the birth certificate!
Everyone knows that “some people say” that he isn’t even the “right” kind of christian; what ever that is…
; )
Dazzeetrader11 on February 28 at 9:35 p.m.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitt_Romney
Welcome to the dance Dem libs. Looks like he’s born in Michigan. Have fun.
force_vector on February 28 at 9:37 p.m.
The level of hated people hold towards individuals with whom they disagree is pretty startling. “dim libs”, “Robme”, “Obowow”, “mittons”, “tool”, “fundamentalist”….
RedCedar on February 28 at 9:38 p.m.
And on it goes…
misjustice on February 28 at 9:43 p.m.
Force, I don’t hate Robme; I LOVE men in magic underwear! Ever see those Calvin Klein ads in Vanity Fair?????
*swoon*
I’m just not convinced that he is REALLY a natural born citizen. Afterall, his father was not an ‘Merican. My request is really no different than that of the “birthers” and their request to see President Barack Hussein Obama’s birth certificate. Fair is fair, afterall.
; )
force_vector on February 28 at 9:52 p.m.
justice - The only magical political underwear I’m aware of are those which come off without the press finding out. Fortunately for me, I missed the vanity fair ads :)
BlondeSquawker on February 28 at 10:23 p.m.
Is that your answer, Dazee?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XnY42YJ1AY&feature=related
Shadedmuse on February 28 at 10:34 p.m.
Let me clear the air and set the Record Straight.
Willard Mittons Romney YOU WILL NEVER BE PRESIDENT OF THE Unites State.
Maybe the mormon church, But not the United State.
greenlibertarian on February 28 at 10:37 p.m.
Please don’t feed the troll!
greenlibertarian on February 28 at 10:42 p.m.
Very disappointed more Dems didn’t turn out and vote for google Santorum.
The fact that he did as well as he did is rather amazing. Outspent 2-1 and gets almost as many votes as Willard.
The anti-LDS sentiment is larger than I thought it would be.
That’s BAD NEWS for dog on top of station wagon Romney in the general.
Dazzeetrader11 on February 28 at 11:29 p.m.
For the night, Newt gathered the 2nd most votes.
I do agree that the anit-LDS sentiment has been underestimated.
BUT when the time comes, the supporters of all four will line up against Obama…they do understand the common purpose of defeating socialism and mismanagement of the taxpayers money and trust.
I think Santorum veered very far right…maybe too much so.
We’ll see what happens but one thing’s for certain: Obama’s in serious trouble. I do hope that continues…..and I do think he will lose. He’s stepped it up in dividing the country. That, combined with his misguided reading of the nation’s tea leaves, will put him back to wherever he came from…and it won’t be the Senate.
He’s betrayed himself and now has a record. He’ll lose….and I hope it’s an embarrassment for him..although people like him are too goofy and ego driven to be embarrassed. “They just don’t know any better”…
Dazzeetrader11 on February 28 at 11:49 p.m.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/113980/Gallup-Daily-Obama-Job-Approval.aspx
Remember…no whining:)
Shadedmuse on February 29 at 12:05 a.m.
No Matter who the tea-bagger canidate is.
Pres obama WILL be re-elected in a landslide, its in the cards the starts and the bible.
Dazzeetrader11 on February 29 at 12:10 a.m.
Likely it’s in your drink Shaded. The gap is widening. You’re delusional….when it comes down to one R candidate…Obama will be the loser that he’s been all along.
You better now than you were 4 years ago? Most say NO. Since most of the liberals are out of touch, I suppose they say..”.drugs first but YES….I suppose….huh?” lolol
mikeln on February 29 at 2:17 a.m.
What we really need is a none of the above check box on the ballot so we can throw em’ all out at the same time.
reservedparking on February 29 at 5:32 a.m.
Trolls feeding trolls?!?!?
liberal_in_right_wing_land on February 29 at 5:36 a.m.
Ok, I hate feeding the stupid troll, but I just have to correct the crazy Dazzee who is obviously making things up this morning. Please show a poll that has Romney beating Obama, provide something to back that up, because every poll I have seen shows Obama winning with only a few showing a tie. Look, I even have something to back up my claims.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/president_obama_vs_republican_candidates.html
Also, Newt didn’t get the second most votes last night…where are you getting your information?
I know you hate Obama, but provide something to back up the garbage you are spewing.
DB1640 on February 29 at 8:53 a.m.
Looking forward to President Romney and turning the country around. His speech last night was beautiful. He really went after Obama. I’ll bet Obama had a smoke or two last night. I loved it!
valleyman on February 29 at 9:00 a.m.
Hmmm…. I’m finding it interesting that we’ve got such a great double standard going on regarding anything people choose to comment on.
I’m going to suggest we apply the Liberal “Diana/Misjustice” standard to all future conversations. For those of you new to the dance, this is the standard by which if you are not of a particular group being discussed you have NO RIGHT to comment, let alone hold any opinion whatsoever, i.e. abortion is a woman’s right and because you aren’t a women your opinion doesn’t matter. Don’t want an abortion, don’t have one…
So let’s apply that to this piece:
1) If you are not a Republican, you have NO RIGHT to comment on the candidates, primary system, or election outcomes of the primary states, nor make any derogatory comments about said candidates.
2) If you are not a Republican, feel free not to become one, vote for one, or make any comments regarding them.
3) The same applies to Dazzee who can’t help herself/himself in applying the same insulting rhetoric to Obama/Democrats. I do believe she/he/it is the only one who does that on a regular basis…
Now, that’s awfully silly isn’t it? Hypocrisy is like a mirror in need of cleaning… Try and keep it civil, stop calling names, and try and have a dialogue rather than a one-sided diatribe. If you can’t I don’t want to hear a peep from any of you regarding the state of our nation’s political tone…
Dazzeetrader11 on February 29 at 9:28 a.m.
Libby…as of last night…Newt is now 2nd in popular votes…have a look.. You’re ot reading well in your haste…
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/republican_vote_count.html
Valleyman…you’re going soft on these Liberals. Buck up…toughen up…R’s have a long season ahead….as does Obama.
WHS on February 29 at 9:52 a.m.
Hmm, once again I see valleyman is trying to dictate terms for posting. I believe you forgot a couple of rules there valley…
4) Only questions and answers previously vetted by valleyman are allowed.
5) All posts must contain some reference to a) putting down the President or b) putting down liberals.
6) If you have a contrary opinion to valleyman- You are not allowed to post.
7) If you don’t say only sweet nice supportive statements (except for liberal and Obama bashing), then you are obviously a liberal and rule 8 applies (dazzee being the only exception, as she is the only conservative that ever says anything negative towards liberals, Obama or Democrats).
8) Liberals need not post, as they are all socialist, Obama loving, commies who just call people names and don’t play nice.
And finally
9) If you don’t play by my rules, then I am going to take my ball and go home! harumph.
As far as this post is concerned - Who cares. Seriously, this has turned into such a three-ring circus it is comical. Personally, I am going to try and wait until the primaries are over… As dazzee is correct, once the pre-function is over, the real show will be begin.
WHS
dougfresh on February 29 at 10:33 a.m.
I’m no huge fan of Obama… but come on GOP… give us a better candidate than Santorum or Romney. Neither of those 2 have a snowballs chance in hell of being elected.
I’d have no problems voting for a “moderate conservative.”
But a lunatic or a mormon? No thanks.
WHS on February 29 at 10:38 a.m.
Diana, don’t sweat it… valleyman just wants to control the conversation… See, he gets tired of being proven wrong all the time. So, rather than continually getting the short end of the stick, he wants to dictate terms for posting… And just like Fox news, this allows him to control the information and he can say whatever he wants, without regards to facts, truth or contrary opinion.
WHS
WHS on February 29 at 10:42 a.m.
Dougfresh,
I think you are right on the money. An intelligent “moderate” conservative would probably win the election.
However, the conservatives have been over-run by the tea party… As a result, they are inundated with the lowest common demoninator, not the highest. I think most “moderate Republicans” are keeping their heads below the radar these days, because even they aren’t immune from the radical right teabagger rhetoric.
WHS
detroitdude on February 29 at 10:52 a.m.
I still need to see the birth certificates of: Romney, Santorum, Gingrich, and even Ron Paul. Until then I can’t be sure they were born in the US, and it may disqualify them from becoming President. And please, no short form obviously photo shopped birth certificate, I need to see the super secret ultra long form ones. Until then, all these guys quite possibly were not born in the US. Please expedite this.
misjustice on February 29 at 11:13 a.m.
No photocopy either, Detroitdude. I demand the original long form. We can’t be too careful when it comes to vetting someone (or several someones) whose own father was NOT a citizen of the US of A. Because “some people say” that Mitt Robme is not a natural born citizen either, and with a foreign father, well, I just need the proof that he REALLY is a citizen.
That’s all…it’s for the best. Mitt, where’s your papers?????