Blogfather to Mich. Dems: Vote Romney

Even though Santorum didn't bow out until April 10

(NEWSER) - No one's been nominated yet—but the media crowned Mitt Romney the winner of the GOP primaries after he took Michigan on Feb. 28, a Pew report finds. Of course, Romney didn't essentially seal the deal until Rick Santorum dropped out. That happened on April 10, weeks after the media had effectively called the race for Romney, finds the report, which tracked 11,000 news outlets from Jan. 2 to April 15. After Feb. 28, we saw "a suddenly intense discussion of 'delegate math' and the conclusion that no other candidate could win," explains the report's co-author. More»

We explained the rules wrong, state GOP says

(NEWSER) - Michigan's GOP has outraged Rick Santorum's campaign by flip-flopping on how delegates are awarded. Before this week's primary, officials repeatedly said two delegates would be awarded for each congressional district, with two at-large delegates to be split between candidates who received more than 15% of the vote. Santorum and Mitt Romney each stood to gain 15 delegates under those rules— leading Santorum's campaign to declare Michigan a tie . But the party now says those two delegates will be awarded on a winner-takes-all basis. More»

Pundits weigh in on what his Michigan, Arizona victories mean

(NEWSER) - Mitt Romney may have had to sweat a little, but he won in both Michigan and Arizona last night. Is he the favorite for the nomination again? Here's what pundits are saying:

• We'll let Romney himself have the first word: "We didn't win by a lot, but we won by enough, and that's what matters," he said in his victory speech. Most pundits seem to agree. "Winning is winning," writes Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post . "A loss in Michigan would have crippled his campaign beyond repair."

He squeaks out victory over Santorum in must-win state

(NEWSER) - Mitt Romney needed a win in Michigan and he got one, though the narrow margin of victory in the state where he was born and raised may worry supporters, reports the Wall Street Journal . Romney ended up taking 41% of the vote, Rick Santorum finished a few points behind with 37.9%, while Ron Paul grabbed 11.6%, and Newt Gingrich came in last with 6.5%. With the win in Arizona already under his belt, it was a big night for Romney, although Michigan isn't a winner-take-all state,' so he may end up splitting its delegates with Santorum. More»

Mitt Romney calls it 'outrageous, and a terrible dirty trick'

(NEWSER) - Rick Santorum must have thought the Daily Kos had the right idea with Operation Hilarity . Santorum's campaign has been sending out a robocall to Michigan Democrats, urging them to vote for him, Talking Points Memo reports. In the ad, a deep-voiced man says that Mitt Romney's opposition of the auto bailout was "a slap in the face to every Michigan worker, and we're not going to let Romney get away with it!" One Michigan politico believes the call is designed to sound like a union call. More»