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Arizona And Michigan Primaries: What’s At Stake?

Hannah Madans |
February 27, 2012 | 1:58 p.m. PST

Executive Producer

courtesy Creative Commons
courtesy Creative Commons
Current polls show a very tight race in Michigan and Mitt Romney leading in Arizona. Both states hold primaries Feb. 28, a week before Super Tuesday. Michigan and Arizona each lost half their delegates because they defied the Republican Party by holding their primaries before Super Tuesday.

MICHIGAN

There are 30 delegates up for grab in Tuesday’s Michigan primary.

Polls from ARG show that Rick Santorum is leading with 36 percent and Romney follows closely with 35 percent. Ron Paul lags with 15 percent and Newt Gingrich has a mere 8 percent.

The poll went into further detail to say that Santorum leads with 42 percent among voters who support the Tea Party; Romney follows with 27 percent. Among voters who are not supporters of the Tea Party or are undecided about the Tea Party, Romney leads with 40 percent, followed by Santorum with 32 percent.

A different poll, released by Rasmussen, places Romney in the lead with 38 percent, followed closely by Santorum with 36 percent.

Polls are inconclusive at the moment, but point to a close race.

Michigan is an important state for Romney because it is where he was born. His father was a very popular governor in the state and a prominent auto-executive.

A loss there could point to bigger problems in the Romney campaign, especially if it is a large loss. Just a few weeks ago, Romney was expected to easily win the state. If he loses and Santorum wins, it would be a devastating blow to Romney. It would also increase Santorum’s momentum.

If Romney loses Michigan, some may claim that he will be unable to win in the Midwest or win over conservative voters.

If Romney wins Michigan, “that noise you'll hear if Romney manages a comeback win in Michigan is the Santorum bubble popping,” reports CBS News.

A loss in Michigan could mean that the party’s support of Santorum has ended after his controversial comments about the value of higher education, the role of religion in public life, President Barak Obama’s “phony theology” and more.   

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has publicly endorsed Romney, which may help him.

The Michigan primary has been given more media attention than the one in Arizona, partially because it is Romney’s home state, and partially because it awards delegates proportionately. This gives Paul and Gingrich the possibility of winning some delegates.

ARIZONA

The winner in Arizona will take 29 delegates in a winner-take-all scenario.

The latest Rasmussen poll finds Romney leading Santorum 42 to 29 percent. In the poll, Gingrich was in third with 16 percent and Paul trailed with 8 percent.

A poll by Real Clear Politics also showed Romney in the lead with 41.4 percent and Santorum with 28.2 percent.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer announced her endorsement of Romney Sunday. Brewer is a conservative governor, and her endorsement of Romney may help him attract more conservative voters.

Reach Executive Producer Hannah Madans here.



 

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