Will Michigan be the breaking point for Romney?
Many people are predicting the Romney will have to win Michigan in order to stay viable in this presidential race. Another loss would give the perception that he doesn’t have the chance to win. A quote from a Reuters.com article sums up what might happen to the Romney campaign:
“His campaign his hemorrhaging bad and losing Michigan would be the final nail in the coffin,” said Thomas Whalen, a professor of politics at Boston University. “I don’t think he wants to spend his entire fortune on a national campaign”.
Just months ago he was been widely expected to win New Hampshire, where he maintains a summer home. He toiled hard there, holding about 250 events with voters, flooding airwaves with more than 10 television ads a day and vastly outspending his rivals.
“He’s trying to get the other donors to contribute now but they will abandon him very easy — I think they are already abandoning him. He has to show them a good showing in Michigan,” he said.
With his father known as a former governor of Michigan, Romney should at least be known throughout the state. However, there is a strong possibility for McCain and Huckabee to pick up a lot of voters in the state. Since the DNC has stripped Michigan of its 156 delegates, many independent voters may turn out to the Republican primary instead. This would surely help McCain as it seemed to have helped him in New Hampshire. This would be reminiscent of McCain’s support there back in the 2000 election.
But McCain probably can appeal to the same pool of voters who gave him a win in Michigan’s 2000 primary and are unlikely to go for Romney: independents and Democrats who admire his record as a Vietnam pilot and prisoner of war and respond to his fiscal conservatism. McCain also is likely to do better among GOP voters than he did here in 2000, when George W. Bush was the establishment favorite.
Huckabee also has the chance of getting the vote of the evangelicals and conservative Christians in Michigan even though he doesn’t have a formal campaign there. However, Huckabee is going to be campaigning in Michigan and has launched a TV ad there.
Romney is going to have to work quickly to repair his tarnished image before the primary in this state if he wishes to have a chance to win.
