Mitt Romney fended off Rick Santorum's popularity surge on Tuesday night with projected wins in both Arizona and Michigan. While the former Massachusetts governor was born and raised in Michigan, recent polls suggested his path to victory was far from a sealed deal — a potentially embarrassing blow for any front-runner.
"Just a week ago, the pundits and pollsters were going to count us out," Romney told a crowd of supporters. "We didn't win by a lot, but we won by enough, and that's all that counts."
He said his experience as a governor and as a business leader make him the right candidate to "restore America's promise." Leading up to the primary, pollsters showed him in a dead heat with Santorum in Michigan.
In a rare move, he also asked for donations to his website.
Our very own Lawrence O'Donnell pointed out, "every one of these election nights has been a referendum on Romney." The guy really can't win, in the eyes of voters and his party, until he secures nomination and then beats President Obama in November. He faces an uphill battle. Voter confidence in Obama is now at a one-year high.