GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Mitt Romney is fighting to avoid an embarrassing home-state loss in a high-stakes Michigan primary that will not decide the Republican presidential contest but could scar the former Massachusetts governor just a week before Super Tuesday.

Rival Rick Santorum is calling upon an unusual coalition of tea party activists, religious conservatives and Democrats to help topple Romney and reclaim the momentum in the increasingly heated nomination battle.

Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, confirmed on the eve of the election that he had targeted Michigan Democrats with automated phone calls encouraging them to vote against Romney.

“We’re going to get voters that we need to be able to win this election. And we’re going to do that here in Michigan today,” Santorum said today when asked about the “robo-call” outside the New Beginnings Restaurant in Kentwood, Mich.

He suggested that Romney did much the same thing by courting independent voters before New Hampshire’s GOP primary. And he accused his rival of employing his own “dirty trick” by running automated calls featuring a recording of Santorum endorsing Romney before the 2008 election.

“I didn’t complain about it. I don’t complain. You know what? I’m a big guy. I can take it,” Santorum said.

Only Michigan Republicans may vote in today’s GOP primary, but party rules allow voters to change their affiliation temporarily on the spot. The potential involvement of Democrats adds a new twist to a contest already expected to have significant implications for Romney’s White House bid.

Romney, appearing today on Fox News Channel, called the phone calls “outrageous and disgusting — a terrible, dirty trick.” He accused Santorum of “teaming up with Barack Obama’s people” to derail the Romney campaign.

“This is a new low for his campaign and that’s saying something,” Romney told Fox.

Neither Newt Gingrich nor Ron Paul is actively competing in Michigan’s contest, or in Arizona’s  primary today, which Romney is expected to win handily, in part because of the state’s Mormon population.

Romney was born and raised in Michigan, where his father served as governor. But Santorum’s rise in polls following a three-state sweep earlier in the month has forced Romney to work hard in Michigan over the past week. He’s hosted nearly a dozen public events as he and his allies have spent more than $2 million on local television advertising.

Santorum campaigned today around Grand Rapids, a city set in a western Michigan region home to many social conservatives and tea party supporters.

“I don’t trust him,” Carol Alexander, of nearby Wyoming, said of Romney while waiting for Santorum to arrive at the Rainbow Grille in Grandville, Mich.

A self-described religious conservative, she said she was leaning toward Santorum, whom she says “speaks what he believes.”

Alexander said she’s been inundated with phone calls from campaigns in recent days, adding that “it’s been getting kind of nasty,” but discounted the impact of Santorum’s latest tactic.

“Do you really think a liberal is going to vote for Santorum?” she asked with a smile. “I don’t think they’re going to do it.”

Romney is spending primary day 130 miles to the east in suburban Detroit, an area with a larger collection of moderate Republicans, a key segment of his support.

Romney’s overwhelming advantages in Michigan, however, may not pay off in a contest generally dominated by the Republican Party’s more conservative flank. He trailed Santorum by a significant margin in polls as recently as last week. In recent days, however, those polls have tightened, leaving today’s election essentially a tossup.

Romney predicted victory Monday night as a crowd gathered at the Royal Oak Music Theatre waited to hear rocker-rapper Kid Rock perform.

“I’m going to win in Michigan and I’m going to win across the country,” Romney said.

Santorum, perhaps in a nod to the recent swing in the polls, was more cautious as he spoke to voters in Lansing.

“I think the fact that we are doing as well as we are is a pretty big deal in this state,” he said.

Paul, who was ending a three-state tour of Michigan on Monday, told supporters that his goal is to “whittle away” at the total number of delegates available. Speaking to supporters in Democrat-friendly Detroit, the Texas congressman said, “Everybody knows I’m not a conventional Republican.”

No matter the top finisher, Romney and Santorum stand to split the 30 delegates at stake because Michigan distributes delegates proportionally. By contrast, Romney is favored to capture all 29 delegates in Arizona, which features a winner-take-all system.

Washington state holds its caucuses Saturday, with 40 delegates at stake. On Super Tuesday March 6, 10 primaries and caucuses take place, with 419 delegates.

Romney has 123 delegates to 72 for Santorum, 32 for Gingrich and 19 for Paul in the Associated Press count, with 1,144 required to win the party nomination at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla.

Despite the outcome, there are signs that voters continue to be unhappy with the current Republican field.

Back at the Rainbow Grille, Alexander said she may favor Santorum over Romney, but doesn’t see enough “fight” in either man.

“These are the choices we have,” she said. “I’d like to see somebody else jump in.”

Copy the Story Link