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http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/romney_michigan/2008/01/15/64649.html
Romney Tops McCain to Win Michigan
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
DETROIT - Mitt Romney scored his first major primary victory Tuesday, a
desperately needed win in his native Michigan that gave his weakened
presidential candidacy new life. It set the stage for a wide-open Republican
showdown in South Carolina in just four days.
Three GOP candidates now have won in the first four states to vote in the
2008 primary season, roiling a nomination fight that lacks a clear favorite
as the race moves south for the first time.
The former Massachusetts governor defeated John McCain, the Arizona senator
who was hoping that independents and Democrats would join Republicans to
help him repeat his 2000 triumph here. Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas
governor, trailed in third, and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson is
making a last stand in South Carolina.
"It's a victory of optimism over Washington-style pessimism," Romney said in
an Associated Press telephone interview from Southfield, Mich., echoing his
campaign speeches and taking a poke at McCain, the four-term senator he
beat. "Now on to South Carolina, Nevada, Florida."
Minimizing the significance of Tuesday's vote, McCain said he had called
Romney to congratulate him "that Michigan welcomed their native son with
their support."
"Starting tomorrow, we're going to win South Carolina, and we're going to go
on and win the nomination," McCain declared, also in an AP interview from
Charleston, S.C.
Huckabee, too, already campaigning in the next primary state, said in
Lexington, S.C.: "We're going to win South Carolina. We put a flag in the
ground here Saturday." He also jabbed at Romney, who has poured at least $20
million of his personal fortune into his bid: "We need to prove that
electing a president is not just about how much money a candidate has."
Though he now has come in third in New Hampshire and Michigan after winning
in Iowa, Huckabee said, "Whatever it takes, we're in it for the long haul."
In Michigan, with most precincts reporting, Romney had 39 percent of the
vote, McCain had 30 percent and Huckabee 16 percent. No other Republican
fared better than single digits.
Hillary Rodham Clinton was the only top contender on the Democratic ballot.
With most precincts counted, she had 58 percent of the vote to 37 percent
for uncommitted delegates to the Democratic National Convention. No other
Democrat fared better than single digits.
Romney's ties to Michigan proved beneficial.
Four in 10 voters said his roots factored into their votes, and more than
half of that group backed Romney, according to preliminary results from
surveys of voters as they left their polling places, taken for The AP and
the networks. He also led among voters who said the economy and illegal
immigration were their most important issues, and won a majority of
Republicans, conservatives, and voters looking for a candidate with
experience.
McCain had an edge with those who wanted an authentic president, and he won
among moderates, independents and Democrats. But fewer non-Republican voters
participated in the GOP primary this year than in 2000 when those voters
helped him beat George W. Bush. Independents and Democrats accounted for
roughly one-third of the vote, compared with about one half eight years ago.
Romney had a slight edge over McCain as the candidate likeliest to bring
needed change.
The economy proved the most important issue for Republicans in Michigan, the
state with the highest unemployment rate in the nation and an ailing auto
industry. Given four choices, half of Michigan Republican primary voters
picked the economy as the most important issue, while one in five picked
Iraq, one in seven immigration and one in 10 terrorism.
A mere 20 percent of eligible voters were expected to show up at polling
stations across frigid and snowy Michigan; turnout was likely to be
depressed by a Democratic race of little to no consequence.
For Republicans, the stakes varied.
Of the three candidates competing hard here, Romney needed a Michigan
victory the most to invigorate a campaign weakened by searing losses in Iowa
and New Hampshire. He was the only one who watched the voting returns in
Michigan; his top Michigan opponents, McCain and Huckabee, campaigned in the
state earlier in the day but left by afternoon to plant themselves in
next-up South Carolina.
Up for grabs in Michigan were 30 Republican delegates.
Romney campaigned in the state far more than his rivals and spent more than
$2 million in TV ads in Michigan, nearly three times what McCain did,
according to an analysis of presidential advertising by the nonpartisan
Michigan Campaign Finance Network. McCain paid for more than $740,00 in ads
and Huckabee spent more than $480,000.
A muddle from the start, the GOP race has grown ever more fluid as the first
states voted over the past two weeks.
Huckabee won the Iowa caucuses, McCain prevailed in New Hampshire's primary,
and Romney was second to both - but claimed victory in scarcely contested
Wyoming. Thompson is camping out in South Carolina looking for his first
win. Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, is doing the same in Florida,
which votes Jan. 29.
Romney was born and raised in Michigan, and his late father, George, was
head of American Motors and a three-term governor in the 1960s. Romney
announced his presidential candidacy in Michigan a year ago, campaigned in
it far more than his rivals and spent considerably more money on
advertising.
McCain had a built-in advantage of his own. He won the state's primary eight
years ago on the strength of independent and Democratic-crossover voters,
and he still had a network of hard-core backers. This year, McCain didn't
have to compete full-bore for non-Republican voters because the Democratic
race in Michigan was essentially a beauty contest. Six months after his
campaign nearly collapsed, he now leads national polls.
Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, hoped to stage a surprise
finish with the support of Christian evangelicals who live in the more
conservative, western part of the state. With his populist pitch, Huckabee
also wanted to do well in Reagan Republican country outside of Detroit. He
came from behind to win the Iowa caucuses and sought another surprise finish
in Michigan.
The economy dominated the weeklong Michigan campaign. The state has been
reeling from the U.S. auto industry's downturn and has the nation's highest
unemployment rate at 7.4 percent.
Michigan doesn't typically hold its primary until February but state party
officials scheduled it earlier to try to give the state more say in picking
a president. The Republican National Committee objected and cut the number
of Michigan delegates to the national convention by half as punishment while
the Democratic National Committee stripped the state of all 156 delegates to
its national convention, including 28 superdelegates who would not have been
bound by the outcome of the primary.
Romney Tops McCain to Win Michigan
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
DETROIT - Mitt Romney scored his first major primary victory Tuesday, a
desperately needed win in his native Michigan that gave his weakened
presidential candidacy new life. It set the stage for a wide-open Republican
showdown in South Carolina in just four days.
Three GOP candidates now have won in the first four states to vote in the
2008 primary season, roiling a nomination fight that lacks a clear favorite
as the race moves south for the first time.
The former Massachusetts governor defeated John McCain, the Arizona senator
who was hoping that independents and Democrats would join Republicans to
help him repeat his 2000 triumph here. Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas
governor, trailed in third, and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson is
making a last stand in South Carolina.
"It's a victory of optimism over Washington-style pessimism," Romney said in
an Associated Press telephone interview from Southfield, Mich., echoing his
campaign speeches and taking a poke at McCain, the four-term senator he
beat. "Now on to South Carolina, Nevada, Florida."
Minimizing the significance of Tuesday's vote, McCain said he had called
Romney to congratulate him "that Michigan welcomed their native son with
their support."
"Starting tomorrow, we're going to win South Carolina, and we're going to go
on and win the nomination," McCain declared, also in an AP interview from
Charleston, S.C.
Huckabee, too, already campaigning in the next primary state, said in
Lexington, S.C.: "We're going to win South Carolina. We put a flag in the
ground here Saturday." He also jabbed at Romney, who has poured at least $20
million of his personal fortune into his bid: "We need to prove that
electing a president is not just about how much money a candidate has."
Though he now has come in third in New Hampshire and Michigan after winning
in Iowa, Huckabee said, "Whatever it takes, we're in it for the long haul."
In Michigan, with most precincts reporting, Romney had 39 percent of the
vote, McCain had 30 percent and Huckabee 16 percent. No other Republican
fared better than single digits.
Hillary Rodham Clinton was the only top contender on the Democratic ballot.
With most precincts counted, she had 58 percent of the vote to 37 percent
for uncommitted delegates to the Democratic National Convention. No other
Democrat fared better than single digits.
Romney's ties to Michigan proved beneficial.
Four in 10 voters said his roots factored into their votes, and more than
half of that group backed Romney, according to preliminary results from
surveys of voters as they left their polling places, taken for The AP and
the networks. He also led among voters who said the economy and illegal
immigration were their most important issues, and won a majority of
Republicans, conservatives, and voters looking for a candidate with
experience.
McCain had an edge with those who wanted an authentic president, and he won
among moderates, independents and Democrats. But fewer non-Republican voters
participated in the GOP primary this year than in 2000 when those voters
helped him beat George W. Bush. Independents and Democrats accounted for
roughly one-third of the vote, compared with about one half eight years ago.
Romney had a slight edge over McCain as the candidate likeliest to bring
needed change.
The economy proved the most important issue for Republicans in Michigan, the
state with the highest unemployment rate in the nation and an ailing auto
industry. Given four choices, half of Michigan Republican primary voters
picked the economy as the most important issue, while one in five picked
Iraq, one in seven immigration and one in 10 terrorism.
A mere 20 percent of eligible voters were expected to show up at polling
stations across frigid and snowy Michigan; turnout was likely to be
depressed by a Democratic race of little to no consequence.
For Republicans, the stakes varied.
Of the three candidates competing hard here, Romney needed a Michigan
victory the most to invigorate a campaign weakened by searing losses in Iowa
and New Hampshire. He was the only one who watched the voting returns in
Michigan; his top Michigan opponents, McCain and Huckabee, campaigned in the
state earlier in the day but left by afternoon to plant themselves in
next-up South Carolina.
Up for grabs in Michigan were 30 Republican delegates.
Romney campaigned in the state far more than his rivals and spent more than
$2 million in TV ads in Michigan, nearly three times what McCain did,
according to an analysis of presidential advertising by the nonpartisan
Michigan Campaign Finance Network. McCain paid for more than $740,00 in ads
and Huckabee spent more than $480,000.
A muddle from the start, the GOP race has grown ever more fluid as the first
states voted over the past two weeks.
Huckabee won the Iowa caucuses, McCain prevailed in New Hampshire's primary,
and Romney was second to both - but claimed victory in scarcely contested
Wyoming. Thompson is camping out in South Carolina looking for his first
win. Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, is doing the same in Florida,
which votes Jan. 29.
Romney was born and raised in Michigan, and his late father, George, was
head of American Motors and a three-term governor in the 1960s. Romney
announced his presidential candidacy in Michigan a year ago, campaigned in
it far more than his rivals and spent considerably more money on
advertising.
McCain had a built-in advantage of his own. He won the state's primary eight
years ago on the strength of independent and Democratic-crossover voters,
and he still had a network of hard-core backers. This year, McCain didn't
have to compete full-bore for non-Republican voters because the Democratic
race in Michigan was essentially a beauty contest. Six months after his
campaign nearly collapsed, he now leads national polls.
Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, hoped to stage a surprise
finish with the support of Christian evangelicals who live in the more
conservative, western part of the state. With his populist pitch, Huckabee
also wanted to do well in Reagan Republican country outside of Detroit. He
came from behind to win the Iowa caucuses and sought another surprise finish
in Michigan.
The economy dominated the weeklong Michigan campaign. The state has been
reeling from the U.S. auto industry's downturn and has the nation's highest
unemployment rate at 7.4 percent.
Michigan doesn't typically hold its primary until February but state party
officials scheduled it earlier to try to give the state more say in picking
a president. The Republican National Committee objected and cut the number
of Michigan delegates to the national convention by half as punishment while
the Democratic National Committee stripped the state of all 156 delegates to
its national convention, including 28 superdelegates who would not have been
bound by the outcome of the primary.
