Posted on 02/28/2012 7:48:25 PM PST by Red Steel
DETROIT, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Mitt Romney was a double winner Tuesday, capturing the Michigan and Arizona Republican presidential primaries, results showed.
The Detroit Free Press declared Romney the victor over his GOP rivals in Michigan.
With about 74 percent of the precincts counted, Romney had 317,258 votes (41 percent) to Rick Santorum's 286,530 (37 percent), results posted by the Free Press showed. Ron Paul was third with 88,521 votes (12 percent) and Newt Gingrich followed with 50,726 votes (7 percent). Another 2 percent voted "uncommitted" and a handful of votes went to several other Republicans who are no longer contenders.
CNN called Romney the winner in Arizona. With 71 percent of the vote counted, Romney had 191,182 votes (48 percent) to Santorum's 101,232 votes (25 percent). Gingrich was third with 65,182 votes (16 percent), with Paul bringing up the rear with 33,505 votes (8 percent).
Exit polls in the two states Tuesday had indicated electability was the top priority among Republican primary voters.
Thirty-three percent of Michigan voters said beating President Obama is the top priority when selecting a GOP nominee, while 38 percent of voters in Arizona said the same, CBS News exit polls indicated.
Romney and Santorum slashed at each other ahead of the Michigan primary, which was too close to call. The contest in his home state is seen as crucial to Romney and his claim of the front-runner's mantle.
Despite the closeness of the Michigan race, the Post said Romney was expected to win about three times as many convention delegates as Santorum Tuesday. Arizona is a winner-take-all primary. Michigan's 30 delegates are allotted proportionately to the primary winner in each of the state's 14 congressional districts. Arizona's winner picks up all of its 29 delegates.
The Washington Post said Romney was expected to garner 45 delegates from both contests, with Santorum picking up about 15.
Gingrich and Paul were not expected to win any delegates, and did not seriously campaign in the two states.
Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, and Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, have been shooting fireballs at each other in recent days.
Romney blasted Santorum's use of robocalls urging Democrats, who can vote GOP in Michigan, to vote for Santorum.
"I know why [President] Obama doesn't want me to face him but I just think it's outrageous and a terrible dirty trick at the last hour, by the way, late in the afternoon on the day before the election, maybe hoping no one would notice, they start sending out calls to Democrats, union members telling them to go into the Republican primary and vote against Mitt Romney," Romney told Fox News.
"This is a new low for his campaign and that's saying something," he added.
Santorum told Fox News Monday night he's just trying to attract the Democratic voters he'll need in November.
"When he runs a robocall of my voice from four years ago saying good things about him, that's not a low moment, and when I run a call basically saying, calling Democrats that are eligible to vote here, to vote for us, that's a low?" he said.
“No big surprise. The shocker would have been if he lost MI growing up there and with the 3 times governor father.”
Yes, the father who as governor so admired Saul Alinsky.
“Emperor Obama Thanks you for your support. All he needs is one more SCOTUS pick!”
Stop it!
How dare you throw reality and a bit of pragmatism in the face of a good tantrum!
Can’t wait to hear the tantrums when Obama gets his 2nd term.
According to FOX, it’s Romney with 41%, Santorum with 38%, Ron Paul with 12%, Gingrich with 7%, and smaller percentages for Rick Perry, Michelle Bachman, Herman Cain, and John Huntsman. It’s proportional, so Romney and Santorum will both get delegates.
Arizona is winner take all. I thought GOP rules stated no winner take all states before early April? Hmmmm.
In 2008, McCain came in second in Michigan with 30% of the vote, so Romney did worse in 2012 than he did in 2008.
We’ll see what happens on Super Tuesday.
RINO Romney cannot win in a general election.
Emperor Obama Thanks you for your support. All he needs is one more SCOTUS pick!
I gotta ask. What makes you think Romney’s pick would be any better? He has a track record of selecting liberals for the bench.
Emperor Obama Thanks you for your support. All he needs is one more SCOTUS pick!
I gotta ask. What makes you think Romney’s pick would be any better? He has a track record of selecting liberals for the bench.
LET him win?!?!? We're serving his second term up on a silver tray. Commentators on CNN, FOX and even Krauthammer are saying what a weak candidate mitty is.
Gingrich had the biggest win of the primary season, South Carolina with a 35% increase in turnout. The minute conservatives abandoned him just because he lost one state, the conservative vote was destined to be split and there was no way enough of Newt’s very strong support would abandon him for an unvetted, untested candidate like Rick. It was stupid to think Rick was going to score every point and make no stumbles in his first major test, which is the only way he could have won these contests. Conservatives moving to Rick decided to split the vote and lose these contests. The ONLY way to turn this around now is to GO BACK TO NEWT for Super Tuesday.
If conservatives refuse to see that Rick is TOTALLY unprepared for this task, not to mention completely unpresidential, and move back to Newt, then they will hand the election to Romney. Rick had his chance at a big win and blew it. He’s got nothing but small caucus states under his belt, most that were uncontested seriously. He has proved he cannot carry the day in the kind of states that count. Gingrich, on the other hand, has proved he CAN compete in big states that matter and can win states BIGGER than anybody. He still had about the double the popular vote Rick did before tonight. Gingrich is the frontrunner for the conservative alternative, there is no way for Rick to supplant him in that position now, and people need to realize that REAL fast unless they want to hand this election to Mitt by continuing to support Rick.
Romney’s Supreme Court selections would be 1005 as bad as Obama’s.
This country is over.
It hits the floor before 2016 though
Damn this sucks, but at least Santorum probably took close to half of the delegates from congressional districts from what I’ve heard.
You are a very generous sort. I think he's a very poor liar, possibly even a terrible one.
What good is ‘blame’ when Obama has ruined the country.
Pull yourself together. The conservative candidates combined vote beats Romney.
And even Romney is better than Obama.
bump
Grow up, people.
I don’t know what you expected. Mitt was supposed to win big and he barely won.
He’s not the candidate yet and probably won’t be.
He’s also not the devil incarnate so anyone who wants to throw up their hands and give this election to Obama because their guy didn’t win is an idiot.
And even Romney is better than Obama.
How? Because he talks like a conservative? Go to his record and show me how he is better than Obama. what has he DONE to support your claim?
Yep. His speech after FL and NH were solid too. After Michigan, I am pretty much ready to reluctantly accept that he is the nominee. Unless something goes horribly against Mitt, he’ll sew it up on super tuesday.
Romney can and should win again Obama. He paints an attractive alternative to the Obama agenda for the average Republican and independent voter.
I am far from thrilled about him in the White House, but he’s miles better than Obama. Four more years of a megalomaniac leftist is just not an option. Obama will replace at least one of our five Supremes...and probably two more. Obamacare will be fully enact, and we’ll fall further into the abyss. The winner of the GOP race has always had my vote, and we are on the verge of knowing who that will be. Santorum simply was not good enough in the past 10 days to extend this thing further. Too many mistakes and silly statements. We have to get a Senate majority and create a mandate for as much of Paul Ryan’s plan as possible...and force Romney to the right. He’ll sign whatever gets through the Senate We’ll also have to keep the pressure on for key judicial appointments.
Read Daniel, Ezekiel and Revelation and you will know what's coming.
Holding serve doesn’t win one the nomination. WA is up on Saturday, hopefully Santorum can win there.
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