Rejuvenated front-runner Romney takes Michigan, Arizona

By Frank Fuhrig Feb 29, 2012, 4:30 GMT

Washington - Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney set the stage for next week's 'Super Tuesday' voting in 10 states with victories Tuesday in Republican primaries in Michigan and Arizona.

With more than 99 per cent of precincts reporting results in Michigan, Romney was at 41 per cent to Rick Santorum's 38 per cent. Congressman Ron Paul received 12 per cent of the vote, and former House of Representatives speaker Newt Gingrich was at 7 per cent.

The Great Lakes state has 30 presidential convention delegates. The victor in each of Michigan's 14 congressional districts wins two delegates with two more delegates going to the statewide winner.

In the south-western state of Arizona, which follows a winner-take-all formula for its 29 delegates, Romney had 47 per cent to Santorum's 27 per cent, with 93 per cent of the vote counted. Gingrich was at 16 per cent with Paul at 8 per cent.

Romney, 64, the former governor of Massachusetts, grew up in Michigan, where his father once served as governor, but spent his adult life away from his native state.

The tough challenge from Santorum, a former US senator from nearby Pennsylvania, which like Michigan has an economic base of heavy industry and is demographically similar, threatened to embarass Romney in a state that he was once expected to win easily.

'What a win! This is a big night,' Romney told a victory rally outside Detroit. 'We didn't win by a lot, but we won by enough.'

He said it was 'particularly special' to win in his native state, reminding supporters that a week earlier he had been trailing Santorum in Michigan surveys.

Santorum rose to prominence as the social-conservative rival to the front-running Romney after winning non-binding contests on February 7 among Republicans in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado.

Speaking to supporters in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Santorum said Tuesday's results - and his close second-place finish in a state that Romney was originally expected to win - showed that the nomination battle was now a 'two-person race.'

With Arizona's winner-take-all apportionment, Romney was assured of continuing to build his lead in the decisive count of voting delegates at the conservative party's August nominating convention.

Even if Michigan's individual congressional districts do not deliver a majority of the state's delegates to Romney, Tuesday's outcome constitutes a perception of victory heading into Super Tuesday on March 6. Santorum's surprise sweep earlier in the month had tarnished Romney's image as the front runner.

By early Wednesday, Romney had secured 152 delegates since the start of nomination voting in January, followed by Santorum with 72, Gingrich with 32 and Paul with 19, the Washington Post reported. The Republican nod will require at least 1,144 delegates.

The Super Tuesday states have a combined 419 delegates.

The Republican nominee would challenge President Barack Obama, who is unopposed for renomination by the Democratic Party in the November general elections.

Romney criticized Obama's policies for failing to spark a stronger economic recovery from the 2008-09 recession, while running deficits of more than 1 trillion dollars a year.

Romney reiterated the 'basic promise' of US society that each generation lives better than its parents.

'Our campaign is about more than replacing a president,' Romney said. 'It's about restoring America's promise.'

Both Romney and Santorum opposed Obama's 2009 bailout of the Detroit-based car industry, a topic that even generally free-market Republicans were closely divided on in Michigan. The issue is likely to be part of the debate next week in neighbouring Ohio, Super Tuesday's largest prize.

Speaking earlier Tuesday to the United Auto Workers union, Obama defended the bailouts. 'Three years later, the American auto industry is back,' he said.

'GM is back on top as the number one automaker in the world - highest profits in its 100-year history. Chrysler is growing faster in America than any other car company. Ford is investing billions in American plants.'

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