Romney Takes Michigan GOP Primary { His Wife Getting 2 more Cadds}
Carlos Osorio/AP
Romney waved to supporters at his election night party in Novi, Mich.
NOVI, Mich. -- Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney won the Michigan GOP primary tonight, staving off a strong challenge from Rick Santorum and gaining crucial momentum in his drive to win his party’s presidential nomination.
Also tonight, Romney, as expected, won the Republican primary in Arizona, reaping all 29 of its delegates, according to projections by The Associated Press.
With 91 percent of precincts reporting in Michigan, Romney had 41.1 percent of the vote, Santorum had 37.8 percent, and Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich lagged far behind, with 11.7 and 6.5 percent, respectively.
“We didn’t win by a lot, but we won by enough and that’s all that counts,” Romney said in a speech to cheering supporters gathered in suburban Detroit.
“Our campaign is about more than just replacing a president. It’s about restoring America’s promise. ... Today that promise is being threatened by a faltering economy and a failed presidency,” said Romney, who didn’t mention his Republican opponents in his speech and instead lambasted Democratic President Barack Obama.
“We’ve seen enough of this president over the last three years to know that we don’t need another five years of President Obama,” he said. “We’re going to get him out of that office and get him back home where he belongs.”
Santorum, a former US senator from Pennsylvania, conceded to Romney sometime after 10 p.m., a Romney aide said. Santorum addressed supporters even as the AP and TV networks were announcing that he had lost the race.
“It’s getting harder out here in America,” he said. “It’s getting harder for people to make ends meet because we have a government that is crushing us every single day,” he said.
Like Romney, Santorum didn’t mention his opponents and focused on Obama as the reason for the country’s woes.
“We have a president who says no,” said Santorum. “We need a president who says yes to the American people.”
Santorum’s campaign considered the closeness of the race a victory. Indeed, his haul of delegates could be significant because Michigan awards its 30 delegates based on votes in its 15 congressional districts.
The Michigan contest had been closely watched as an indicator of how each candidate would perform in the industrial Midwest, and whether they could win over the blue collar workers who are crucial deciders in the swing states that will determine the general election.
The nominating contest will now broaden out into the 10 states that vote on Super Tuesday next week. But each candidate is likely to find a region where he can fare well, which could keep the race in a state of flux for weeks, if not months.
Romney was born and raised in Michigan. His father was a popular three-term governor. And he had waxed nostalgic about the state for weeks, reaching for Michiganders’ heartstrings as he sought their votes.
He opened each stump speech with memories of his childhood. He reminded voters that he was born in Harper Hospital in Detroit, that he went to kindergarten at Hampton School, that he visited county fairs with his father. He commented about how the trees in the state were “just the right height,” and about how he loved the Great Lakes (as well as all the little ones). Referring to the local ginger ale, his wife Ann remarked that they “bleed Vernor’s.”
He said during his victory speech that he considered winning “particularly special” because of his ties to the state.
Just weeks ago, Michigan was expected to be a cakewalk for Romney. With his deep ties to the state, he had maintained a double-digit lead. But after Santorum won three states in a single day – Missouri, Minnesota, and Colorado – he began to surge in the polls, uniting factions within the party that have distrusted Romney.
With backing from social conservatives and Tea Party activists, Santorum sprang to a 15-point lead in some polls. Romney slowly chipped away at that lead over the past two weeks, with a series of television ads, key endorsements such as Governor Rick Snyder, and increasingly pointed attacks at Santorum.
Gingrich and Paul, the other two candidates, generally avoided any campaigning in Michigan and Arizona and instead focused on the upcoming Super Tuesday states.
Throughout the day, Romney and his aides bitterly complained about Santorum’s unusual tactic of calling Democrats and urging them to get to the polls and vote for him in the Republican primary. Romney accused his rival of “dirty tricks,” and said he was trying to “kidnap our primary process.”
The state has an open primary system, which means voters can request any ballot regardless of their party registration. Voters had to sign a document indicating which ballot they received, which will be a public record and could discourage some cross-over ballots. Although there was a Democratic ballot available today, it was essentially meaningless because the party is holding their caucuses in May to assign their delegates.
In the Santorum camp’s call to Democrats, a man’s voice offered a reminder that Democrats could vote in the Republican primary.
“Why is it so important?” the man’s voice asks. “Romney supported the bailouts for his Wall Street billionaire buddies but opposed the auto bailouts. That was a slap in the face to every Michigan worker and we’re not going to let Romney get away with it.” The call ends with the man saying that the spot was paid for by the Santorum campaign.
Santorum was unapologetic for the move, calling Romney’s complaints a “cheap shot.”
“We’re proving the point that we can attract the voters that we need to win states like Michigan,” Santorum said at a diner in Kentwood.
Romney today admitted to mistakes he’s made in his campaign, and acknowledged that his comments about his wealth are hurting his chances.
“I’m trying to do better and work harder and make sure that we get our message across,” he said at a press conference held at his campaign headquarters in Livonia, the first time in nearly three weeks he had taken questions from the traveling press corps.
When asked what mistakes he was referring to, he laughed.
“Oh, I can’t imagine you would have a hard time coming up with anything,” he said. “Never repeat your mistakes.”
Romney on Friday noted that his wife owned “two Cadillacs.” Two days later, at the Daytona 500, he told an Associated Press reporter that he didn’t follow the sport as closely as ardent fans, but he knew some of the team owners.
Facing a rival who has surged while making some controversial statements – including calling President Obama “a snob” for promoting higher education -- Romney made the case that the Republican Party should nominate someone more measured.
“You know it’s very easy to excite the base with incendiary comments,” Romney said. “We’ve seen throughout the campaign that if you’re willing to say really outrageous things that are accusatory and attacking President Obama that you’re going to jump up in the polls.”
“I’m not willing to light my hair on fire to try and get support,” he added. “I am who I am.”
Santorum told reporters at his Grand Rapids field office, “Key states are going to decide this race,” noting that Romney’s strongholds so far in the Northeast and parts of the Mountain West won’t decide the nomination. “It’s the Midwest.”
Santorum is counting on the industrial belt to tighten his grip on the contest. He spent a few hours in Ohio to build support. Polls show him leading Romney there.
But as all of the remaining GOP candidates know, particularly Romney, polls shift quickly and leads can evaporate almost overnight.
Throughout the campaign, Romney has sparred with his rivals over his conservative credentials. Santorum today referred to the former Massachusetts governor as a “lightweight as a conservative” when it comes to accomplishments, calling himself the heavyweight in the battle for conservative voters.
Santorum credited Romney for his business acumen, but added: “I’m not running for CEO of a company.”
Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com. Bobby Caina Calvan can be reached at bobby.calvan@globe.com
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