Molly Ball, The Atlantic | February 29, 2012
Looking equal parts relieved and exhausted, Mitt Romney took the stage in Novi, Michigan, on Tuesday night to accept a hard-fought victory. "We didn't win by a lot, but we won by enough," he said, "and that's all that counts."With most votes counted late Tuesday, Romney had prevailed in his native state by 3 percentage points over Rick Santorum, 41 percent to 38 percent, a difference of nearly 30,000 votes. It was an outcome that had seemed in doubt until the very end, with a panicked Romney unable to pull away from his scrappy competitor in a state that should have been a slam dunk -- a state he won by nine points four years ago. But in the end, he scraped by, and claimed a 22-point victory in Arizona as well. (Under the states' differing delegate rules, Romney will get all of Arizona's 29 delegates but will likely split Michigan's with Santorum.)
