Gov. Mitt Romney Runs Away with Michigan Mackinac GOP Straw Poll – 9/25/11

Gov. Mitt Romney has decisively won the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference Straw Poll today in Michigan. Romney got 51% of the vote, with Rick Perry coming a distant second at 17%:

HOTLINE ON CALL: In a rout, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney trounced Rick Perry and the rest of the GOP field to win the National Journal Hotline/National Association of Home Builders Straw Poll of GOP activists attending a weekend conference in Michigan.

Romney received 51 percent of the 681 votes cast, a whopping 34-percentage point victory over second-place Perry, who garnered 17 percent. It was the second straight defeat for Perry in a straw poll, after he finished second in another contest Saturday in Florida. The twin disappointments, along with weak debate performances, have raised questions about whether the Texas governor will remain the perceived front-runner in the GOP nomination fight.

Romney grew up in suburban Detroit and in the Michigan governor’s mansion; his father, George Romney, served as the state’s chief executive from 1963 to 1969. Michigan is likely to hold its presidential nomination contest on Feb. 28, a week before Super Tuesday. It is also an important state in the general election contest. . . . Read More

Romney is very strong in Michigan, which could be significant if he gets the nomination. He would put Michigan in real play for the General Election against Obama, who simply can’t win if he loses a deep blue state like Michigan. That is actually one of the strongest arguments for Romney being the nominee. He polls fairly strong in some places most Republicans do not.