Santorum, Romney Battle It Out For Michigan

In the GOP presidential race, Rick Santorum is riding his momentum to the top of the latest national polls.

Santorum is launching an aggressive new strategy in Michigan, a state that Mitt Romney grew up in, and also won four years ago.

Woman: "We love you—we like you—we’ll vote for you.
Santorum: Alright, your question, you're going to make me blush.
Woman: I don't have a question. I just wanted to tell you how much we all love you!
Santorum: Okay, thank you."

With four new national polls showing him either leading or neck-and-neck with Mitt Romney, the next major showdown is in Michigan, less than two weeks away.

Santorum’s hoping to deal his rival a devastating loss on what Romney considers home turf. Romney was raised in Michigan and his father was a popular governor and an auto executive.

Romney won Michigan four years ago and his campaign is even touting tonight’s event here as a “welcome home rally.”

In a new ad, Santorum is targeting one of Romney’s main weaknesses—his inability to win over conservatives.

But Romney’s allies insist Santorum’s voting record is not rock solid, unleashing a new attack.

A pro-Romney ad from the group Restore Our Future says: "In a single session, Santorum co-sponsored 51 bills to increase spending and zero to cut spending. Rick Santorum—big spender, Washington insider."

Still, some suggest Romney’s opposition to the administration’s auto bailout may jeopardize his chances in Michigan.

But Romney isn’t backing down. On Tuesday, he reasserted his criticism, calling it “crony capitalism.”

In a recent Romney op-ed, he wrote: "The president tells us that without his intervention things in Detroit would be worse. I believe that without his intervention things there would be better."

For his part, Newt Gingrich was in California, doing a little pandering at the San Diego Zoo, confident he can still win the nomination.

"This is like riding Space Mountain at Disney. I mean, we've had this up-and-down roller coaster effect. By Super Tuesday, we'll be right back in the middle of the hunt,” Gingrich said.