Mitt Romney Re-Takes the Lead in Michigan

|| Once trailing in the state he grew up in, Mitt Romney has re-taken the lead in Michigan. ||

Don’t Call it a Comeback.

They say if you don’t like the weather in Michigan just wait, it’ll change soon enough.  The same thing can be said of the Wolverine State’s polls.  Mitt Romney, who once had a big lead in the Michigan, and then trailed Rick Santorum by a considerable margin, has once again taken the lead in the state’s Republican presidential primary polling.

Mitt Romney has regained the lead in a Mitchell/Rosetta Stone Poll of Michigan conducted for MIRS (Michigan Information & Research Service). The two frontrunners are now in a statistical dead heat with Romney (32%) having a 2% lead over Rick Santorum (30%) while Newt Gingrich (9%) and Ron Paul (7%) are far behind in a trial Republican presidential ballot test.  About one in five voters remain undecided (22%).  Eight days ago, Santorum had a 9% lead and twelve days before that Romney led by 15% in a topsy turvy race.

“Reports show Romney is spending twice as much on media as Santorum and it would seem as though it is having an impact. Romney has turned the race around and has gone back into the lead by 2%. Romney has made big inroads with conservatives that had gone to Santorum in the last poll. Santorum’s lead among Tea Party voters has been cut from 15% to 5%, his lead with Evangelical Christians has been cut from 16% to 11%, and his huge lead among those that say they are “very conservative” has been cut in half, from 31% to 15%. The strong negative ads being run in Michigan defining Santorum as a big spender have had a huge impact. Romney’s message and resources have put him back into the lead,” Steve Mitchell, president of Mitchell Research & Communications, Inc. said.

Michigan Republican Presidential Poll:

1. Mitt Romney — 32%
2. Rick Santorum — 30%
3. Newt Gingrich — 9%
4. Ron Paul — 7%

22% of Michigan’s Republican voters remain undecided.

What’s most interesting is that internal polling must show this to be an extremely close race as well.  Both the Santorum and Romney camps have walked back expectations in Michigan.  Yet there is one thing we be certain of, next Tuesday is going to be a very late night for political insiders.