With yesterday being a day of love, Mitt Romney has been touting a deep love affair with his birth state of Michigan. But a recent poll just ahead of the Michigan primary suggests the love feelings are not mutual.
The February 28th Michigan primary is likely a make or break state for the native son Romney, whose father was once a popular governor there. But guess who’s currently leading in the polls? Rick Santorum!
According to the American Research Group, Santorum is holding a comfortable lead over Romney in Michigan among likely Republican primary voters with 33% compared to Romney’s 27%. Newt Gingrich is currently finishing in 3rd place with 21%, followed by Ron Paul with 12%. A new CNN poll has Romney and Santorum in a virtual tie nationwide.
Interestingly, other nationwide polls are delivering Romney the same somber message. A New York Times/CBS News poll has Santorum’s Michigan lead at 30% compared to 27% for Romney. The New York Times credits this surge to an overwhelming amount of conservatives, evangelical Christians and Tea Party supporters now believing Santorum best represents their staunch positions.
Michigan is a heavy Tea Party state, which has strengthened Santorum’s bid to claim front runner status and the eventual Republican nomination. But there is another factor in play that has caused Michigan voters to turn their support toward Rick Santorum — Romney’s big mouth!
During the near collapse of the auto industry, Romney promised Michigan voters that he would stand by their side, save their jobs and get them through that difficult time. But once Romney lost the 2008 GOP nomination to John McCain, he had a case of amnesia and turned his back on his former words and the auto workers in Michigan. Romney wrote a 2008 op-ed column in the New York Times entitled “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt,” saying “If General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye.” Michigan voters were not amused and vowed to make him pay for selling them out. Now, they are prepared to collect on their debt.
Romney has called the Michigan primary “personal for me,” while political pundits have called it a must win. The ever shifting climate within the GOP in their quest for the 1144 delegates needed to secure the nomination, still has President Obama and his campaign operatives grinning from ear to ear.
Correct on ALL points DJ!…especially your point about Mitt's BIG mouth and his "severely" asinine comments regarding (at the time) the collasping auto industry. The man has no shame..smh. He will SAY and DO almost anything to win but ironically it keeps backfiring on him! So how does he respond to his falling poll numbers? He doubles down on the "SAY anything/DO anything" strategy to win and the Michigan primary later this month could end up being a political nightmare for him. You know. The more I see of Mitt the more I'm convinced that the phony Mitt IS the REAL Mitt. In other words: Outside of loving his family (being a faithful husband and a good father) he's probably been shape-shifting ALL of his life. He displays No core beliefs, principles or values when it comes to the role of government. He can't seem to articulate any real purpose for even running for President!?! He wants to be President for the sake of being President. That's it.… Read more »