Romney takes Michigan and Arizona

Okay. My curiosity about the battle between Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum in the Mich. primary got the better of me. I went to bed early, but awoke later and couldn’t get back to sleep. So here I am posting Romney’s decisive win in Ariz. and his slim victory margin in Mich. – still, it was a victory margin sufficient to prevent Santorum from full-throated gloating over a win in the Romney family’s backyard. And in my opinion, the Republican Party lucked out as far as the odds in the general election are concerned.

Here’s the scoop from Politico's Alexander Burns:

TOLEDO, Ohio — Mitt Romney took a big step toward setting himself back on a path to the Republican presidential nomination, thumping Rick Santorum in the Arizona primary and fending off the potential nightmare scenario of a loss in his native state of Michigan.

Romney was the projected winner in Arizona as soon as the polls closed at 9 p.m. ET. Shortly after 10 p.m., The Associated Press and television networks called the tighter race in Michigan. With 67 percent of precincts reporting, Romney had 42 percent to Santorum’s 37 percent. Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich trailed with 12 percent and 7 percent, respectively.

Read more: