A native son finds the comforts of home state
Business acumen, understanding of local woes pay off
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. - Mitt Romney capitalized on his local roots and business experience to win the Michigan primary yesterday, securing a decisive victory that revived his presidential campaign and vindicated his decision to more fully embrace economic concerns.
He will waste no time in trying to seize momentum from his win. This morning, Romney plans to fly to South Carolina, where he will embark on a bus tour and again challenge John McCain and Mike Huckabee, who finished second and third yesterday.
Tomorrow and Friday, Romney plans to campaign in Nevada, a state his rivals have downplayed but where he is investing heavily and hopes to pick up more precious delegates.
"Tonight is a victory of optimism over Washington-style pessimism. . . . America now understands that Washington is broken and we're going to do something about it," Romney told hundreds of cheering, chanting supporters last night at a suburban Detroit hotel.
After struggling in Iowa, where he presented himself as a social conservative, and in New Hampshire, where he emphasized fiscal issues, Romney found solid footing in the state where he was born and raised. Not only was he familiar with the local culture, he focused on his résumé, saying his business background would help him reinvigorate the state's beleaguered economy, by far the most important issue for voters.
Facing what was essentially a do-or-die contest in Michigan, he averted another potentially disastrous silver medal, as he called his second-place finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, states he long planned to win. The former Massachusetts governor can now use his win to motivate donors, voters, and campaign staff members as he heads into the South Carolina primary and Nevada caucuses Saturday and the Florida primary Jan. 29.
South Carolina has a large population of evangelicals, who form Huckabee's base, and of veterans, who lean toward McCain. Romney is running third in the latest polls there.
Still, with no clear front-runner for the nomination, Romney has the most delegates after winning yesterday and the Wyoming caucuses earlier this month, as well as finishing second in the other two contests.
Advisers said Romney's message of economic optimism played to his strengths as a former management consultant and a leveraged buyout specialist. It was "a perfect fit for Mitt," said US Representative Pete Hoekstra, a Michigan Republican who is backing Romney. "That is what this guy has done all his life," Hoekstra said. In Iowa, Romney courted evangelical Christians by emphasizing his opposition to abortion and gay marriage. But many expressed wariness about his Mormon faith and flocked to Huckabee, a former Baptist preacher.
In New Hampshire, he appealed to fiscal conservatives by promising to slash taxes and spending and "fix Washington." But he was attacked for changing positions on some issues, and voters sided with McCain.
In Michigan, Romney again outspent his rivals but shelved the negative ads he ran in Iowa and New Hampshire. Instead, he charmed audiences with knowing references to Vernors ("the best ginger ale in the world"), the skies ("cloudy all day"), and the roads where "most of the cars you see . . . are made here in the good old U-S-of-A."
By turns nostalgic and optimistic, he often invoked his father, a three-term governor and auto executive, as a link to Detroit's glory days in the 1950s and 1960s, when business was booming and jobs were plentiful. He focused so squarely on Michigan, he often sounded like a candidate for statewide office.
"The people of Michigan said they believe in someone who is going to fight for them," Romney said last night, as his supporters clinked beer bottles and burst into cheers of "Mitt! Mitt! Mitt!"
Michigan is struggling with the nation's highest unemployment rate, 7.4 percent in November. But Romney struck a relentlessly upbeat tone, declaring last night that, "I will never accept defeat for any industry here in America."
His prescription called for quintupling, to $20 billion, federal spending on automotive sciences. He pledged to convene business, labor, and government leaders to confront the auto industry's problems within his first 100 days in the White House. But more than policy, he sought to convey passion and compassion.
Voters seemed to respond, seeing in Romney a savvy businessman and a lifeline to a better future. "He's been in business, he knows what's going on," said Dave Kutter, 67, a retired manufacturing engineer, who was at a rally yesterday in Grand Rapids. "Michigan is a business state and we need businesses here."
Political analysts said Romney can expect a burst of momentum from his win, but will have a long way to go to capture the nomination. "Winning a major state sends a signal to people across the country that Romney is to be taken seriously as a presidential candidate," said Arthur Lupia, a University of Michigan political scientist. "I don't know how strong a signal it is."
Romney said he was eager for the challenge.
"Let's take this campaign to South Carolina, and Nevada, and Florida," he said to cheers last night. "And let's take it all the way to the White House."
Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com. 