In the Michigan straw poll, Romney won 50.1 percent of the 681 votes cast compared to 16.8 percent for Perry. Cain got 8.5 percent, while Representative Ron Paul of Texas got 7.7 percent. Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann received 4 percent; former House speaker Newt Gingrich won 3.5 percent; former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum got 3.4 percent; and former Utah governor Jon Huntsman got 2 percent.
More than 1,600 elected officials and party regulars attended Michigan’s three-day conference, and state Republican chairman Bobby Schostak said it is no surprise that the former Massachusetts governor did so well in yesterday’s poll.
His father, George Romney, headed American Motors before becoming Michigan governor in the 1960s. And many people in the conference audience that Mitt Romney addressed Saturday night said they liked his similar mix of experience in the public and private sectors.
“His roots are here, they’re strong, and he’s the one to beat,’’ Schostak said.
Perry assured the party chairman Saturday that he will spend lots of time in the state, among several that will hold Feb. 28 presidential contests right after the traditional early states - Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada - hold theirs. - ASSOCIATED PRESS
Perry will appear Friday in N.H. town hall forum
Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry will be conducting his first two town halls in New Hampshire next weekend.
Perry, the Texas governor, entered the race late and quickly vaulted to the top of the polls. But coming off a tepid performance in Thursday’s debate, Perry must prove that he is able to campaign and connect with voters as a candidate. His main Republican rival, Mitt Romney, has benefited from his own previous campaign experience during his 2008 run for president.
