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Crunch time for Romney
15/01/2008 13:04 - (SA)
Detroit - The depressed blue-collar state of Michigan was set on Tuesday to hold a presidential contest that has become a make-or-break moment for faltering Republican contender Mitt Romney.
Democrats were set meanwhile for a fresh televised debate that could see fireworks between front-runners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, after days of squabbling over civil rights and accusations of dirty tricks.
Michigan, whose proud auto industry is reeling from an onslaught of foreign competition, is Romney's native state. His father was a popular governor here before seeing his own presidential hopes falter in 1968.
But the wealthy former governor of Massachusetts faces a battle against Senator John McCain and ex-Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, as he strives to recover from morale-sapping losses in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Dead heat with McCain
An average of Michigan opinion polls by RealClearPolitics had Romney and McCain locked in a statistical dead heat. Huckabee came third ahead of other candidates, such as Rudolph Giuliani, who have largely ignored the state.
"Romney has vowed to continue even if he loses here. But he is really on the edge of disaster and he realises he has almost no margin for error," Bill Ballenger, editor of the newsletter Inside Michigan Politics, told AFP.
"He might try to continue to Super Tuesday on February 5 even though most people would view him as fatally wounded. He has deep pockets to continue if he wants to, but this is crunch time," he said.
The economy has vaulted to the top of voters' concerns with the US housing market in trouble and polls showing a high level of pessimism among consumers.
Michigan - population 10 million - has lost about 275 000 industrial jobs since 2000, and has the nation's highest unemployment rate, 7.4%.
McCain, who touts himself as a "straight talker," has said that lost manufacturing jobs will never return, but that he would strive to create new employment and training opportunities if elected to the White House.
For Romney, that smacks of gloom-mongering, and he promises to "not rest, if I'm president of the United States, until Michigan is brought back".
Democratic boycott
The day-long Michigan primary is complicated by a Democratic boycott, after the state's party defied national party rules by advancing its contest ahead of "Super Tuesday" - when more than 20 states go to the polls.
The vote will be an open one, so Democrats and independents can take part in the Republican race if they choose. Helped by cross-over votes, McCain beat George W Bush in Michigan during his ill-fated presidential run in 2000.
The Democrats are looking past Michigan to Saturday's caucuses in Nevada, the first heavily Hispanic state to vote in the 2008 marathon.
- AFP
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