ELECTION 2012:: Romney inches forward in Michigan, but victory still far from certain – DC
By MB Snow at February 21, 2012 | 9:54 am | Print
Mitt Romney’s efforts to prevent a potentially devastating upset in next week’s Michigan primary appear to be bearing fruit.
Rick Santorum has been consistently beating Romney in recent Michigan polls, but the former Pennsylvania senator’s lead seems to have all but disappeared according to a new Public Policy Polling survey. The poll finds Santorum leading Romney by just a 4-point margin, an 11-point drop from earlier this month.
The stakes in Michigan are extremely high for Romney, who until just a few weeks ago looked set to walk away with the Wolverine State as a favorite son candidate. He was born in Detroit, and his father George Romney governed the state for much of the 1960s after a successful tenure as the CEO of American Motors.
All that changed, however, after a resurrected Rick Santorum won the Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado caucuses earlier this month by wide margins. In doing so he became — at least for the moment — the conservative alternative to Romney in the minds GOP primary voters dissatisfied with the former Massachusetts governor.
Should Santorum triumph in Michigan despite limited campaign resources and a series of recent gaffes on the trail, it will prove that he has what it takes to stop Romney’s fearsome and well-financed political machine dead in its tracks. Such a victory would also dispel the notion that Romney is the inevitable nominee and set up a Republican primary race that could easily stretch into the summer months.
Romney and his super PAC are spending an estimated total of nearly $2 million in an attempt to head off Santorum before next Tuesday’s vote, and the PPP poll indicates that effort beginning to work out. (RELATED: Full coverage of the Mitt Romney campaign)
According to Larry Hembroff, a polling expert at Michigan State University, part of the reason Romney appears to be on the rebound is his newfound emphasis on running a positive campaign in the state.
http://dailycaller.com/2012/02/20/romney-inches-forward-in-michigan-but-victory-still-far-from-certain/
via Michigan Primary | Mitt Romney | Rick Santorum | The Daily Caller.