Romney Survives Santorum to Win Michigan, Arizona

Polls suggested it might be an embarrassing night for Mitt Romney, whose campaign of inevitability depended on wins in home state Michigan and Mormon-friendly Arizona, but he proved resilient in both states.

Rick Santorum made a strong push in Michigan in the weeks before the primary, and even invited Democrats to help him upset a Romney coronation (Michigan’s Republican primary is open to members of any party).

Once again, Romney relied on a barrage of negative ads to achieve victory. Conventional wisdom suggests this could turn off voters and hurt him in the general election, but then conventional wisdom has never had to deal with super PACs before.  —PZS

AP / Gerald Herbert

Miles Romney, left, third cousin to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, cheers in reaction to news that Romney was the projected winner in the Arizona primary.