Exit polls from the New York Times show that the Michigan Republican primary electorate was relatively moderate, revealing that only six in 10 voters who showed up today in the Great Lakes State described themeslves as conservative. “One reason that Republican primary voters in Michigan may appear less conservative than other early nominating contests is that Michigan does not require voters to be registered Republicans, so anyone, including independents and Democrats, can temporarily call himself or herself a Republican and enter the voting booth,” according to the Times.
A more moderate electorate would seem to favor former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s chances. Romney was battered by former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum on social issues ahead of Tuesday’s vote. Santorum has been a major culture warrior in the GOP for more than a decade, and used his specialty on the campaign trail in Michigan, pushing the race to a dead heat before the vote.
Yet it may not be enough. From the NYT:
In Michigan, nearly 4 in 10 primary voters are white Christian evangelicals, according to early exit poll results, and about 3 in 10 are Catholic…
But only about one in seven voters in Michigan said that abortion mattered most to their vote today. Even among social conservatives, the economy was the No. 1 issue – nearly half of white evangelical voters said the economy mattered most to their decision, with nearly a quarter saying either abortion or the deficit mattered the most
