"Recent polls suggest the Michigan contest is essentially a tossup",
Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum is courting an unusual coalition of tea party activists, social conservatives and Democrats to try to defeat Mitt Romney in Michigan's GOP primary.
Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, is known for unflinching conservative views on social issues. But as the hours ticked down to Tuesday's primary in Romney's native state, the Santorum campaign used automated telephone calls to encourage Michigan Democrats to vote against the former Massachusetts governor.
"We're going to get voters that we need to be able to win this election. And we're going to do that here in Michigan today," Santorum said Tuesday morning when asked about the "robo-call" outside the New Beginnings Restaurant in Kentwood, Mich.
He suggested that Romney did much the same thing by courting independent voters in New Hampshire's GOP primary. He also accused his rival of employing his own "dirty trick" by running automated calls featuring a recording of Santorum endorsing Romney before the 2008 election.
"I didn't complain about it. I don't complain. You know what? I'm a big guy. I can take it," Santorum said.
Only Michigan Republicans may vote in Tuesday's GOP primary, but party rules allow voters to change their affiliation temporarily on the spot.
Santorum's automated message says Democrats should send "a loud message" to Romney by voting for Santorum.
Romney called the tactic "a new low" in the campaign.
"I wasn't too concerned about what the Democrats were putting out there because I figured it wouldn't have much impact. But Sen. Santorum did something today which I think was deceptive and a dirty trick," Romney said on Fox News.
Santorum made two appearances at local restaurants near Grand Rapids early Tuesday, a city set in a western Michigan region home to many social conservatives and tea party supporters. With his wife, Karen, at his side, he shook hands for a few minutes at each stop, but did not say much beyond thanking the sometimes unsuspecting diners for being there. He did not ask for anyone's vote.
Santorum's recent rise to prominence in the Republican presidential contest has been fueled by a continued reluctance among the GOP's more conservative voters to embrace Romney.
"I don't trust him," Carol Alexander, of nearby Wyoming, Mich., said of Romney while waiting for Santorum to arrive at the Rainbow Grille in Grandville, Mich.
A self-described religious conservative, she said she was leaning toward Santorum, who she says "speaks what he believes."
Alexander said she's been inundated with phone calls from campaigns in recent days, adding that "it's been getting kind of nasty," but discounted the impact of Santorum's latest tactic.
"Do you really think a liberal is going to vote for Santorum?" she asked with a smile. "I don't think they're going to do it."
Recent polls suggest the Michigan contest is essentially a tossup, despite Romney's strong ties to the state. He was born and raised in Michigan, where his father served as governor.
"I think the fact that we are doing as well as we are is a pretty big deal in this state," Santorum said last week in Lansing.
No matter the winner, the two men stand to split the 30 delegates at stake because Michigan distributes delegates proportionally. By contrast, Romney is favored to capture all 29 delegates in Arizona's primary, also Tuesday, which features a winner-take-all system.
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