How Mitt Romney Won Michigan: 5 Important Michigan Primary Exit Poll Stats

Mitt Romney has a roughly 3% lead in Michigan, and after winning Arizona, he looks poised to add the Wolverine state. 

The race was close, but exit polls show some interesting wrinkles to Romney's somewhat underwhelming victory. 

1. Democrats Come Out For Santorum

Earlier today, Santorum asked (well, auto-blasted) Democrats to come out to vote for him. And they did. By a huge margin. Of those Democrats that voted, 53% voted for Santorum and only 17% voted for Romney. It should tell you something when you call on your political rivals to do something, and they do it. It seems impossible that Democrats would have a legitimate attraction to Santorum's platform. 

2. Where's the Enthusiasm? 

The only age group that voted the most for Mitt Romney was the 65 and older group. Most of the people aged 30-64 voted for Rick Santorum and the youngest voting group preferred...Ron Paul. This is probably correlate to some of the exit poll results. For instance people who were married and wealthier also preferred Romney. 

3. Romney's Economic Credentials Are Intact

Voters who had lost their job in the last 3 years preferred Mitt Romney to Rick Santorum by a fairly significant margin, 42% to Santorum's 35%. Part time workers and the currently unemployed also favored Mitt Romney, albeit by a smaller margin of 41% to 38%. 

4. Tea Party is Not a Source of Support for Santorum 

The Tea Party, which was so active in sweeping fiscally conservative Republicans into Congress in 2010 does not seem to have a favorite in this year's GOP race. Both Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum recieved 41% support from people who supported the Tea Party. Interestingly, Santorum did better among those who opposed the Tea Party. Not sure what's going on there. 

5. Anti-Romneyism is Still Out There 

Voters were asked whether they strongly supported their candidate, supported him with reservations, or didn't support him but disliked the other candidate. Of people who responded with the last answer, 49% voted for Rick Santorum and only 22% voted for Mitt Romney. People are voting for Santorum of out dissatisfaction with Romney. 

Photo Credit: DSW4