Mitt Romney Campaign Downplays Michigan After Calling It A Must Win

A top aide to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's presidential campaign on Monday downplayed expectations for next week's Michigan primary, saying Romney, whose father served as Michigan governor, didn't have to notch a win in the state.

“Mitt Romney has connections to three states,” Eric Fehrnstrom said Monday on MSNBC. “Four years ago we won all three of three of those states [Michigan, Utah and Massachusetts]. Is any one of them a must-win for Mitt Romney? No.”

“I think the must-do for any candidate running for president is achieving the 1,145 delegates," he added. "That’s what’s going to secure the nomination, and it’s a long process, and as of right now we have a nearly three to one lead over our closest rival in terms of delegates."

On a strictly numerical basis, Fehrnstrom is absolutely right. The Republican primary is a race for delegates. Even if Romney loses Michigan's primary next Tuesday, he stands to score many more delegates in the other primary being held that day, the winner-take-all contest in Arizona (though a PPP poll released on Monday showed former Sen. Rick Santorum within three points of Romney there).

That said, Michigan does feel like a state that Romney needs to win. Not only because he grew up there, or because an anonymous GOP senator told ABC News that if Romney loses the state, he or she will begin publicly calling for someone else to enter the race -- but because a top Romney aide recently said losing Michigan wasn't an option.

"We have to win both [Arizona and Michigan]," the aide told The New York Times' John Harwood.

Comments

[ipleathe5thh]

02:34 PM on 05/14/2012

Wᴏɴᴅᴇʀ ᴡʜᴀᴛ's Jɪᴍᴍʏ's Cᴀʀᴛᴇʀ ᴅᴏɪɴɢ ᴍᴀʏʙᴇ ᴡᴇ sʜᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙʀɪɴɢ ʜɪᴍ ʙᴀᴄᴋ...Hᴇ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅɴ'ᴛ ᴅᴏ ᴀɴʏ ᴡᴏʀsᴇ.

Hᴇʟʟ ᴍᴀʏʙᴇ ɪ sʜᴏᴜʟᴅ ʀᴜɴ ғᴏʀ Pʀᴇsɪᴅᴇɴᴛ ɪ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅɴ'ᴛ ᴅᴏ ᴀɴʏ ᴡᴏʀsᴇ

[ipleathe5thh]

02:32 PM on 05/14/2012

I ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ᴡᴀɪᴛ ᴛɪʟʟ Nᴏᴠᴇᴍʙᴇʀ ᴡʜᴇɴ ᴛʜɪs ᴇʟᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ᴏᴠᴇʀ....Iᴛ's ᴏɴʟʏ Mᴀʏ *Bɪɢ Sɪɢʜs*

[ipleathe5thh]

02:29 PM on 05/14/2012

Hᴀs ᴀɴʏʙᴏᴅʏ ᴇʟsᴇ sᴇᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇ Mɪᴛᴛᴇɴ Cᴀᴍᴘɢᴀɪɴ Cᴏᴍᴍᴇʀɪᴄᴀʟ..

Wʜᴇʀᴇ ᴛʜɪs ɢᴜʏ ᴄʟᴀɪᴍs ʜɪs ᴅᴀᴜɢʜᴛᴇʀ ᴡᴀs ʟᴏsᴛ ɪɴ NYC ғᴏʀ 3 ᴅᴀʏs ᴀɴᴅ ʜɪs ʙᴜssɪɴᴇss ᴘᴀʀᴛɴᴇʀ *Mɪᴛᴛ* Cʟᴏsᴇᴅ ᴅᴏᴡɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴜssɪɴᴇss ᴀɴᴅ ғʟᴇᴡ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏʙᴏᴅʏ ᴛᴏ NYC ᴛᴏ sᴇᴀʀᴄʜ ғᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀɴs ᴅᴀᴜɢʜᴛᴇʀ...

Iᴛ's ᴀ ʙᴜɴᴄʜ ᴏғ BS ᴊᴜsᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ Mɪᴛᴛᴇɴs

[sunsetwcd]

01:25 AM on 02/22/2012

Mitt Romney will be our next USA President.

[ipleathe5thh]

02:30 PM on 05/14/2012

Tʜᴇ ᴏɴʟʏ ᴡᴀʏ Mɪᴛᴛᴇɴs ɪs ᴇᴠᴇʀ ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ sᴛᴇᴘ ғᴏᴏᴛ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ Wʜɪᴛᴇ Hᴏᴜsᴇ ʟᴀᴡɴ ɪs ᴡʜᴇɴ Oʙᴀᴍᴀ ᴀsᴋ ʜɪᴍ ᴛᴏ ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴘɪᴄᴋ ᴜᴘ Bᴏ ᴅʀᴏᴘᴘɪɴɢs

[Cleverboots]

09:46 PM on 02/21/2012

Anyone but Santorum?

[screwitall]

08:01 PM on 02/21/2012

Mitt,if you can't win in Michigan,you will not win the nomination at the convention.It will be time for you to get on the bus to no-where,with the others.

[ipleathe5thh]

02:31 PM on 05/14/2012

I ʜᴇᴀʀ ᴛʜᴇ Sᴀʀᴀʜᴀ Dᴇsᴇʀᴛ ɪs Nɪᴄᴇ

[screwitall]

03:24 PM on 05/14/2012

talk about a slow PC,I posted this 3 months ago

[firstad]

07:56 PM on 02/21/2012

seafarer1 - you make the same mistake all conservatives seem to do, and I mean every last one of them. You assume I am a liberal because I think the four republican candidates are basically parking meters asking for your money. I am an independent. So far the GOP shows plenty of nothing.

[gwbsucs1]

07:00 PM on 02/21/2012

ya know at this point if Romney would just sit back and say nothing , ol Sanrectum could possibly hang himself -

[tmbz]

05:24 PM on 02/21/2012

It's 123 to 72 delegate count. How is that 3 to 1? That's not even 2 to 1.

[gwbsucs1]

07:06 PM on 02/21/2012

lol someone appears to have failed in mathematics

[Lifelong Liberal]

07:48 PM on 02/21/2012

Someone is using that fuzzy math again.

[se72748]

05:02 PM on 02/21/2012

Well,if he's preparing for a loss in Michigan ,he might as well strap the dog to the roof ans head for home.Its over.

[gwbsucs1]

07:07 PM on 02/21/2012

lol - come on , lets give fido a break now

[lv1155]

04:00 PM on 02/21/2012

As a Michiganian, I say Romney just gave the race away. You can't come to a town that was heavily reliant on the auto industry and say it should have died. Michigan was a state that was hardest hit in this recession and we are just beginning to recover in part because the autos were saved and they have added jobs. Then he attacked the unions with such vigor despite the fact that this state is heavily unionized. I predict Santorum will win and it really is all Romneys fault. I wonder if his brain is connected in anyway to his mouth.

[mmmgoblue]

05:30 PM on 02/21/2012

Good point, he did blow it big time by bashing bailout of auto companies. Instead, he should have accentuated the positive by praising Ford Motor Co. for their success and refusing government money. But, I still think he has a chance to win in Michigan.

[lv1155]

06:22 PM on 02/21/2012

You are exactly right. It's not what you say its how you say it.

[dgharman]

05:40 PM on 02/21/2012

FYI... Santorum was against the auto bailouts too! And just to let you know Romney wasn't against bailouts because he wanted you to die... he wanted to save your backs. And if you look at what happened, he was right. The companies had to go through bankruptcy anyway, but now the government owns a chunk of those companies and they've sent work out of this country and taken jobs from YOU!!! If they would have listened to Romney, the companies would have recovered and government wouldn't have a say as to what they could do. We should live and learn!!! But it seems like we never do!

[lv1155]

06:21 PM on 02/21/2012

Boy you really don't get it doesn't mattter about Santorum all Republicans were against the bailout. The issue quite simply is because of his father he was the favored son and there is a sense of betrayal because in his words he was saying that Michigan could go to hell (or that's how it is interpreted). The soapbox does not apply here for this issue unfortunately for Romney. Oh and by the way for the record he was not right, the capital markets were in the toilet there was no other entity to step in, and therefore the most likely scenario if any is that foreign companies would have bought US manufacturing firms in the managed bankruptcy of which there are so few left in these United States. News flash countries that don't make anything are third world and I guess that is your vision of America.

[gwbsucs1]

07:17 PM on 02/21/2012

but now the government owns a chunk of those companies and they've sent work out of this country and taken jobs from YOU--------------------------would you care to link us to that ?

[mmmgoblue]

03:49 PM on 02/21/2012

The polsters me thinks are wrong. Mitt Romney's father George Romney was governor of Michigan for 3 terms & Michiganders loved him. Those same voters are 61 + years old now & will vote for his son Mitt. Older Republicans traditionally vote more often than younger Republican's who favor Santorum. Mitt should win the Michigan primary by a narrow margin, but a win just the same.

[gwbsucs1]

07:19 PM on 02/21/2012

i don't think the "younger" republicans support Sanrectum , I do think the dumber republicans do - and that can and always will include old and young

[KRIS52]

12:19 AM on 02/22/2012

Rick will win Michigan.

[cclawnj]

12:33 PM on 02/21/2012

If Santorum manages to hand Romney a decisive defeat in a series of upcoming primaries, then panic will set in among Republicans, as the party realizes a colorless, virtually invisible non-entity is about to seize the nomination and forfeit any chance of success in November.

[dgharman]

05:22 PM on 02/21/2012

I AGREE!!! I am already scared. Santorum seems like a good guy but can he really beat Obama? I don't think so. I am sick of hearing all the hype about the auto bailouts. Romney was right and they ended up having to go through the bankruptcy process anyway. Why does that make everyone angry? He didn't want the auto industry to fail. BANKRUPTCY shouldn't be interpreted as FAILURE but rather it should be interpreted as RESTRUCTURE but now the auto companies have to allow government to assist in their choices because they own them!!! IS that what you wanted????

[cclawnj]

05:30 PM on 02/21/2012

Well said, dgharman. I just became a fan.

[joredux]

11:57 AM on 02/21/2012

The public and electorate are seeing more & more every week that Romney will say and do almost anything to get elected , he's got big money backing him but that doesn't seem to matter to the evangelical crowd who seem to be pouring over Santorum . Some choice the Republicans have this time . Romney the flip flopper , Santorum the holier than thou small government fend for yourself type of politician , Gingrich the thrice married ex house speaker who was thrown out for ethics violations and Ron Paul who's been playing the same record for ten years now - no more wars , no more wars , no more wars who's son is a small government Tea Partier. This time it's not the lesser of two evils , it's the lesser of four evils . Just remember though the lesser of two evils is stilll an evil .

[gwbsucs1]

07:24 PM on 02/21/2012

in all honesty , Paul seems to be the only one that makes sense - at least until his kid claimed he was groped in an airport check point , then we saw the real Paul come forward - especially when he got a boost in campaign funds - it makes ya think that he only had his kid do this in order for him to get a financial shot in the wallet - i wonder what his stance is on Personhood - he bein a doctor and all !!

[Woof2205]

11:43 AM on 02/21/2012

And they claim that their poll is accurate within 4%. Right! Polls always shift by 15% in a week. It is either very poor polling or an absolute bomb of a mistake by Santorum, or both.

PPP contacted 602 likely Republican primary voters between Friday and Sunday. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points. Santorum claimed a lead of 15%. He is a loser. He has been saying really strange things.