Here are ten things you need to know today.
- Romney wins Michigan and Arizona: With 99% of precincts reporting, Mitt Romney won Michigan 41% to 38%. Ron Paul came in a distant third with 11.6% and Gingrich was last with 6.5%. In Arizona, Romney won handily, as expected, with 47.8% of the vote with 88% of precincts reporting. Santorum came in second again with 26.7%, Gingrich was third with 16.3% and Paul was last with 8.5%.
- Romney’s problems with conservatives and blue collar voters persist in Michigan: Romney fared less well among very conservative and Tea Party voters in his “home” state. He also fared less well with those who are union members or have a family member in a union, underscoring his lackluster support among working class voters. Romney did well among older and wealthier voters. However, Romney did much better among those groups in Arizona.
- Democrats turned out in MI GOP primary: According to exit polls, about 10% of voters in Tuesday’s Michigan GOP primary were Democrats, and over half of them voted for Rick Santorum. The idea — pushed even by the Santorum campaign — was to use Michigan’s open primary against Romney. Still, it wasn’t enough to give the win to Santorum.
- Santorum will pivot to economic message: Rick Santorum and an advisor both indicated that the candidate would spend more time focusing on the economy and manufacturing in the lead up to Super Tuesday. In the end, a larger focus on social issues didn’t win him Michigan while Romney painted him as an economic “lightweight.”
- Romney camp won’t let the Santorum’s robo call go: The Michigan primary may be over, but the Romney campaign won’t let Rick Santorum live down his attempt to bring out Democratic voters to vote in the MI primary. A spokesman for Romney called this a “major issue” and an aide indicated that Santorum’s ploy may become part of Romney’s stump speech going forward, reports BuzzFeed.
- Spending ahead of Ohio primary already close to $5 million: The biggest prize on Super Tuesday will likely be Ohio and spending there is already close to $5 million. The Romney campaign and Restore Our Future Super PAC have already put down $3.39 million of that, reports Politico, while Santorum and his allies have spent just $527,000 and Gingrich less than $427,000.
- Obama’s Super PAC will air ad in Ohio: Priorities USA Action has put down about $60,000 to run an ad in the Columbus media market the first week in March, a small sum compared to the millions that are already coming in from Romney’s camp, reports Politico. In addition, the labor coalition AFSCME put down about $360,000 in commercials against Romney there already.
- GOP would lose New Jersey even if Christie were on the ticket: A Quinnipiac poll of New Jersey voters shows that even if Gov. Chris Christie were on the ticket this fall, the state would go to Barack Obama 49%-43%.
- Romney and Santorum move on to Super Tuesday states: On Wednesday, Mitt Romney will lead a grassroots rally in Toledo, Ohio before conducting a town hall meeting in Bexley, Ohio. Rick Santorum will hit up four radio shows Wednesay morning before hosting two rallies in Knoxville and Nashville Tennessee.
- Gingrich holds two rallies in Georgia: Newt Gingrich campaigns in Georgia Wednesday, his must-win home state.
