Mitt Romney Holds On to Win in Michigan

On Tuesday, former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts eked out a close win in Michigan over former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania but romped to victory in the Arizona Republican presidential primary.

With the backing of Gov. Rick Snyder and much of the Republican leadership in the state, Michigan was expected to be strong for Romney. He had won the state by 9 percent in the 2008 primary cycle and his father, George Romney, served as governor of Michigan during the 1960s. Despite this background, Santorum led in the polls earlier in the month, only for Romney to catch him in recent days and pass him in most polls taken earlier in the week.

With 71 percent of the votes counted, Romney led with 41 percent followed by Santorum with 37 percent, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas in distant third with 12 percent and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich lagging in single digits with 7 percent.