Tomorrow Arizona voters will choose between the remaining four Republican presidential candidates. Baring a catastrophe, it’s looking good for Mitt Romney.
According to recent polling, Romney now edges closest rival, Rick Santorum, 42 percent to 29 percent. Romney has widened the gap from his 39-31 lead over Santorum from just a week ago.
And the most recent polling doesn’t even factor in Arizona Governor Jan Brewer’s endorsement of Romney yesterday on NBC’s Meet the Press.
“I think that he has that pro business background and political history that I think he would serve America best of all the candidates. I think Mitt is by far the person who can go in and win,” Brewer said.
Brewer is a controversial figure in national circles due to her signing and support of Arizona’s stringent immigration law. However, her opinion still holds stock among Arizona Republicans, who give her an approval rating of 75 percent. This is a key endorsement for Romney, who already received an endorsement from Arizona Senator and former GOP Presidential nominee John McCain last month in New Hampshire.
Romney was already expected to do well in the Grand Canyon State. Although he lost there to McCain in 2008, Romney still managed to take away nearly 35 percent of the vote from McCain, not a small number considering it was McCain’s home state.
But what does this endorsement mean for Romney? Given Brewer’s popularity among conservatives, this could be the push he needs to endear himself to the conservative base who hasn’t warmed to the former Massachusetts Governor. Santorum swept the contests in Missouri, Colorado and Minnesota earlier this month, so it is vital for the Romney campaign to take at least one of the two primaries held tomorrow.
With a double-digit lead in Arizona and tighter lead in Michigan, Romney is in a good position to win both. Having back-t0-back victories would be a huge bump for the Romney camp going into the ten contests on Super Tuesday.
