Rick Santorum

On A Busy Campaign Weekend, Santorum Ventures Up North in Michigan

Republican candidates are wrapping up a busy weekend of campaigning before Michigan’s primary on Tuesday. But Rick Santorum is going where few have ventured — Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Santorum was set to hold a campaign rally at noon ET in Marquette, marking a rare visit by a candidate above the Mackinac Bridge.

The vast majority of candidate visits have been to southeast and western Michigan — not surprising, since that’s where the vast majority of Republican voters are located.

But, the U.P. has a Republican congressman, Dan Benishak. He took the seat vacated by veteran Democrat Bart Stupak in 2010. (You might remember Stupak for backing President Obama’s health care program.) Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Politics, Michigan, Mitt Romney, Republican primary, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Upper Peninsula

February 24, 2012 | 10:42 AM | By Micki Maynard

Down The Stretch They Come In The Michigan Primary

It snowed overnight in Michigan, providing an icy backdrop as Republican presidential candidates kicked off the final weekend of campaigning before Tuesday’s primary.

Things got off to a quick start. United Auto Workers members gathered on a downtown Detroit parking garage rooftop Friday morning, staging a protest in advance of Mitt Romney’s speech to the Economic Club of Detroit.

Our friends at WXYZ-TV are broadcasting Romney’s speech live. The lunch is scheduled to begin at noon ET.

Romney is speaking at Ford Field, normally home to the Detroit Lions, as polls show he’s taken a slight lead over Pennsylvania’s former U.S. senator, Rick Santorum.

The Five Thirty Eight blog says Romney now has a 67 percent chance of beating Santorum on Tuesday. Its calculations show Romney taking 41.1 percent of the vote, with Santorum getting 36.4 percent. The next closest candidate is Ron Paul with 11.9 percent, followed by Newt Gingrich with 9.3 percent. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Government, Politics, Michigan, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Republican primary, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul

February 23, 2012 | 11:57 AM | By Micki Maynard

The Auto Bailout Gets The Spotlight As Republicans, Democrats Spar

About midway through Wednesday night’s Republican presidential debate in Mesa, Arizona, moderator John King of CNN turned to a topic that’s front and center in the Michigan primary: the auto bailout.

It momentarily turned into a free for all between Michigan’s native son, Mitt Romney, and Pennsylvania’s former U.S. senator, Rick Santorum, over what kind of help the federal government should have given the auto companies. You can read and see CNN’s coverage here.

On Thursday, President Barack Obama’s campaign jumped into the fray with a new television ad that began airing in Michigan, which holds its primary next Tuesday.

The ad, called Made in America, contends Republicans turned their back on the industry in 2008 and 2009, when the automakers went to Washington for federal assistance. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Government, Industry, Jobs, Politics, bailout, Barack Obama, Chrysler, General Motors, Michigan, Mitt Romney, New York Times, Republican primary, Rick Santorum

February 22, 2012 | 10:23 AM | By Micki Maynard

Michigan’s Primary Race Tightens As Romney Talks Right To Work

A new poll by NBC News shows Mitt Romney taking a narrow lead over Rick Santorum in the race to win Michigan’s Republican primary next Tuesday.

The NBC poll, out Wednesday, showed 37 percent of likely voters support the former Massachusetts governor, while 35 percent support the former Pennsylvania senator. To statisticians, that’s within the margin of error, meaning a statistical tie.

“Michigan is neck and neck,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, which conducted the NBC survey.

That’s a big change from last week, when Santorum led Romney in two Michigan polls. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Jobs, Politics, Barack Obama, Michigan, Mitt Romney, Primary, Republican, Rick Santorum, Rick Snyder, Right to Work

February 20, 2012 | 10:54 AM | By Micki Maynard

Michigan Primary Race Tightens As Candidates Blanket The State

A new poll out Monday shows the Michigan Republican primary race is tightening. Public Policy Polling says former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum’s lead over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is down to four percent.

PPP’s earlier poll showed Santorum with a 15 percent lead over Romney, raising the prospect that the Michigan born candidate was in danger of losing his home state. It was one of two polls showing Santorum ahead.

Romney’s gain is coming as he spends more time in Michigan ahead of next Tuesday’s primary.

Says PPP: ”What we’re seeing in Michigan is a very different story from Florida where Romney surged by effectively destroying his opponent’s image. Here, Romney’s gains have more to do with building himself up.”

Santorum has double digit leads among Protestant voters, union members, evangelical Christians, Tea Party members, people describing themselves as “very conservative” and men.

Romney is leading with women, seniors, moderates, people who say they are “somewhat conservative” and Roman Catholics. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Politics, Michigan, Mitt Romney, Ohio, polls, Rick Santorum

February 13, 2012 | 12:09 PM | By Micki Maynard

Polls Show Santorum Leading Romney in Michigan

Conventional wisdom says there’s no way Mitt Romney can lose the Michigan Republican primary — after all, he was born in Detroit, grew up in suburban Oakland County, his father was governor, and he won the primary in 2008.

But two new polls show Rick Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, leading Romney in Michigan, where the primary takes place Feb. 28.

According to USA TODAY, an American Research Group poll shows Santorum leading Romney 33 percent to 27 percent among likely Republican voters. Newt Gingrich has 21 percent. A poll by Public Policy Polling shows Santorum with 39 percent, to 24 percent for Romney. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Politics, Michigan, Mitt Romney, Republican, Rick Santorum

February 8, 2012 | 10:31 AM | By Micki Maynard

Here They Come: Candidates Head For Michigan, Economy In The Forefront

And now, it’s Michigan’s turn.

The political spotlight, which many people thought might have been flipped off by now, is about to shine brightly on the state as its Republican presidential primary approaches on Feb. 28.

People in the state can expect to bump into a candidate on a regular basis, whether in television ads, on local news programs, or in person.

The highest-profile appearance thus far is set to be Mitt Romney’s address to the Economic Club of Detroit on Feb. 24. Rick Santorum, who scored three wins on Tuesday, is expected at a fundraising event in Novi next week. There’s no word yet on whether Newt Gingrich or Ron Paul will be be in the state.

No matter the candidate, Michigan’s economy is likely to be front and center, and with it, discussion of the bailout for General Motors and Chrysler. Continue reading →