Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is hoping that an endorsement from Michigan Republican Governor Rick Snyder will save him from losing the state where he was born and raised in the upcoming Michigan primary.
Mr. Snyder wrote an op-ed article in The Detroit News endorsing the son of former Michigan Governor George Romney Thursday.
“Our country has never elected a president born and raised in Michigan. Mitt Romney was born in Detroit,” wrote Mr. Snyder Thursday.
Mr. Romney penned an op-ed article in the same Detroit newspaper earlier this week, hoping to play up his Michigan roots to voters there.
According to three new polls released this week though, Michigan Republicans have not been very welcoming to the “son of Detroit,” as Mr. Romney calls himself.
Blue collar workers in Michigan seem to be more attracted to rival candidate Rick Santorum’s brand of social conservatism. The former Pennsylvania senator finished an Inside Michigan Politics poll released Thursday leading Mr. Romney by 10 percentage points.
After living in Michigan as a youth, Mr. Romney co-founded the Boston based Bain Capital investment firm and eventually went on to become governor of the state of Massachusetts.
He has enjoyed regional popularity in New England as evidenced by his victories in New Hampshire and Maine recently.
Governor Snyder did not attack Mr. Santorum in his endorsement of Mr. Romney, but rather chose to try to rally “Michiginians” around one of their own.
“I hope all Michiganians will join me in supporting the candidacy of this favorite son of our great state,” wrote Mr. Snyder Thursday.
Mr. Snyder took over as the 48th governor of Michigan in 2011.
As of December, Michigan voters gave him a low 19.3 percent job approval rating, according to Yahoo! News. Therefore, his endorsement might not prove to be as big of a boost as Mr. Romney was hoping for.
South Carolina Republican Governor Nikki Haley endorsed Mr. Romney during the weeks leading up to the South Carolina Republican primary election.
Ms. Haley also had a low job approval rating in her state, and Mr. Romney went on to lose South Carolina to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich by over 10 percentage points.
Michigan opposition to Romney
Mr. Romney has already faced opposition from some prominent ”Michiganians” this week.
In his op-ed article earlier this week, the former governor slammed union leaders for their ties to the Obama administration.
Many automotive industry factory workers in Michigan are members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) labor union.
UAW President Bob King lashed out at Mr. Romney’s comments about unions this week.
“When we were at our darkest hour, Mitt Romney turned his back on the industry, their workers and the people of Michigan and in other places where Americans depend on the auto industry,” said Mr. King in a statement.
Additionally, LZ Granderson, a Detroit native and CNN weekly columnist slammed Mr. Romney in his weekly CNN column Tuesday.
“The characterization of Rick Santorum polling well in Romney’s backyard is a bit misguided. The truth is, many of us disowned that two-faced liar years ago,” wrote Mr. Granderson.
It will be interesting to see how voters in Michigan react to the Romney endorsement from Governor Snyder versus the slams from Mr. King and Mr. Granderson.
