Detroit (CNN) -- A relieved Mitt Romney headed back to the campaign trail Wednesday after sweeping crucial primaries in Arizona and his childhood home of Michigan to revitalize his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.
Romney needed to win both states, but especially Michigan -- where he grew up when his father was governor -- to assert his ability to overcome the conservative challenge from former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.
A Santorum victory in Michigan would have raised questions about how strong a candidate Romney is within his own party.
By early Wednesday morning, the Michigan Department of State had posted unofficial results from 80 of the total 83 counties. They showed Romney with 36% to 33% for Santorum.
Texas Rep. Ron Paul had 10% while former House speaker Newt Gingrich had 6%
Wayne County, home to Detroit, was not among the tallies, but numbers posted on its website also showed Romney with a sizable lead.
The state's 30 delegates will be allocated on a proportional basis, and Romney and Santorum each won three so far, according to the returns. However, it was unclear who would win the most Michigan delegates, which are based on congressional districts.
Romney's victory in Arizona was expected and more thorough. He had 47% to 27% for Santorum, 16% for Gingrich and 8% for Paul with 88% of the unofficial returns counted, according to the secretary of state website.
The result gave Romney all of the state's 29 delegates in the winner-take-all primary.
In a speech to supporters, Romney acknowledged he had to come from behind on his home turf in Michigan.
source: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/28/election/2012/primaries/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
