Romney wins primary races in Michigan, Arizona
Mitt Romney cements narrow GOP lead ahead of Super Tuesday
Mitt Romney scored a hard-fought primary triumph in his native state of Michigan and won in Arizona on Tuesday, dealing a blow to his chief Republican rival Rick Santorum and gaining precious momentum ahead of a crucial set of contests next week.
Romney's victories were the latest twist in a turbulent Republican primary campaign, and could cement his status as his party's front-runner to challenge President Barack Obama in the November presidential election. But he fell short of landing the knock-out punch needed to stop his top opponent in his tracks.
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Romney is viewed as the candidate best positioned to beat Obama, and he has the backing of much of the Republican establishment. But Santorum has captured the heart of the party's conservative base, which has no doubt about the authenticity of his views on social issues such as abortion and considers Romney too moderate.
"We didn't win by a lot but we won by enough, and that's all that counts," Romney told cheering supporters in Michigan on Tuesday night. The double victories injected his campaign with new energy ahead of the 10-state contest known as Super Tuesday.
Santorum had hoped for a win in Michigan following his victories earlier this month in Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri. He told supporters late Tuesday that a month ago "they didn't know who we are, but they do now." He was already campaigning in Ohio, one of next week's largest prizes, when the verdict came in from Michigan, and vowed to stay the conservative course he has set.
With 87% of Michigan's precincts reporting, Romney had 41% to Santorum's 38%. Texas' Ron Paul was in third place with 12% and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was bringing up the rear with 7%.
In Arizona with 62% of precincts reporting, Romney was leading with 48% to Santorum's 26%. Gingrich was third with 16% and Paul came in last with 8%.
Romney's victory in Arizona had been expected. So much so, that his opponents spent little time and no money campaigning there.
To seal the GOP's nomination a candidate must accumulate the backing of 1,144 delegates to win the party nomination at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, in late August.
Romney picked up all 29 delegates at stake in Arizona to raise his total to 152 delegates, according to the AP's count, compared to 72 for Santorum, 32 for Gingrich and 19 for Paul. Michigan's 30 delegates were to be distributed proportionally.
Yitzhak Benhorin, in Washington, contributed to this report
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