Polls are now closed across most of Michigan, although several voting districts will be open until 9 pm ET.
Arizona closes at 9 pm ET also. Romney has won Arizona
30% of primary voters in Michigan are Independents.
Even if Romney wins Michigan, he doesn’t gain all that much (if he loses, it’s panic city). If Romney wins, his momentum won’t last long. Next week, the Super Tuesday results are likely to splinter–with Romney winning his New England and Mormon West turf, Gingrich winning Georgia and Santorum looking strong in Ohio and much of the rest of the south and southwest.
Based on media reports from MSNBC and Fox News, the early exit polls show an electorate that is 10 percent Democratic (compared to 7 percent in 2008). Of those, 50 percent have voted for Rick Santorum, while 15 percent have voted for Romney. That means that if those results were to hold up, pro-Santorum Democrats would give Santorum a 3.5 percent boost.
So Twitter has been completely hysterical tonite, with Eric Boehlert observing:
😆
LOL. So true.
LOLGOP from eclectablog is liveblogging and he can smell a Romney defeat. And he is utterly giddy about it!
Romney is going to lose Michigan, I agree.
LOL: If Mitt Romney were a Transformer, he’d turn into Mitt Romney.
With 19% in, Romney 41, Santorum 38
With 21% in, Romney 41, Santorum 38
The folks at fivethirtyeight are also liveblogging and report that Santorum is holding his own plus the Operation Hilarity crossover voting seems to be higher than typical.
Who is starting the pool on when Romney will be lighting his hair on fire?
With 24% in, Romney 41, Santorum 38
With 26% in, Romney 41, Santorum 38
I am sensing a pattern here.
With 28% in, Romney 41, Santorum 38
are these Rmoney or Scrotorum strongholds reporting?
The Arizona exit polls back out to: Romney 44, Santorum 27, Gingrich 16, Paul 12.
With 36%, Romney 41, Santorum 38
The latest exit polls from Michigan have a 3 point margin for Romney
Exits: Santorum won Middle Income voters, Romney crushed it among affluent and very wealthy voters
With 41% in, Romney 41, Santorum 39
Santorum is closing, gaining a 1,000 votes .
With 45% in, Romney 41, Santorum 38.
Romney now ahead by 17,000.
With 50% in, Romney 41, Santorum 38.
Romney ahead by 19,000.
With 51% in, Romney 41, Santorum 38.
Romney by 20,410.
Santorumentum!!!
With 57% in, Romney 40, Santorum 36.
With 59% in, Romney 40, Santorum 36.
Romney by 22,000
Mitt Romney leads by 23,000 votes now (235K to 212K). Hard to see where Rick Santorum can make up the difference, as more rural counties have reported and the gap still isn’t closing.
The reason why this race is not called yet is because they do not have enough election day vote in yet. A lot of this is absentee vote, which is pro Romney, while election day voting is pro Santorum.
This is per Chuck Todd on MSNBC
With 65% in, Romney 40, Santorum 36
Romney by 28,000
I am getting ready to call this, even if Chuck Todd is not.
Catholics went to Romney. Shocking. Hey Santorum, let this be a lesson. Don’t diss John F. Kennedy.
I’m calling it. Romney wins. With 68% in, its Romney 42%, Santorum 37%. Santorum is speaking now, but I have it on mute after hearing a few sentences. He is not conceding per se.
So this blithering idiots drops out now, right? Or does Romney continue smearing Santorum all over the Super Tuesday states?
No, Gingrich and Santorum will continue. Gingrich will win Georgia, and Santorum will win Oklahoma, Ohio, and Tennessee. Romney will win Virginia, Massachusetts and Vermont. Alaska, Idaho and North Dakota are the wild cards next week. They are all caucuses. I can see Romney winning Idaho.
Santorum is spread so thin. I really can’t imagine he hangs in after this showing. There is going to be tremendous pressure on his to bow out.
Super Tuesday is literally a week away. Why would Santorum drop out when polls showing him leading in Ohio? A win there could change the narrative once again.
Or am I just not getting the Santorum jokes?
Santorum is leading in Ohio, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. No way he drops out. Gingrich might drop out after winning Georgia, but I doubt it.
President Romney. Just sounds good somehow.
Rusty, you really need to stop smoking and taking those mind-altering drugs. They’re making you say stupid things. Oh wait, that’s your normal self.
Nobody is happier than me to see Romney continuing to get his hands dirty with Santorum. The problem is Santorum has now gone way of in to whacko land and has lost all of the GOP establishment other then Rush Limbaugh.
He’ll be having a lot of people telling him that his career is over if he keeps going.
MJ, stop trying to give mind altering drugs a bad name. Besides, im pretty sure the one that makes you a conservative is made by Phizer and Jesus.
Romney and Santorum split the Michigan delegates, meaning that this isn’t much in terms of win or the press fetish of momentum. Romney is still going to be trying to counter Little Ricky’s domonionism instead of talking about the economy, which is what he wants to talk about. So little Ricky is still in a decent position to collect up delegates and as long as he has PAC money around, he can afford to stay in.
I can’t believe I am saying this, but I agree with Jason330