Romney Wins Arizona - Tight Race in Michigan - NYTimes.com Supporters of Mitt Romney watch results trickle in at the candidate's primary night rally in Novi, Mich. SOUTHFIELD, Mich. - Mitt Romney won the Arizona primary on Tuesday, based on surveys of voters leaving polls, but was locked in a tight battle with Rick Santorum in Michigan, where Mr. Santorum hoped to use his strong showing in his rival's native state as evidence that the Republican presidential race is far from settled. The victory by Mr. Romney in Arizona, which television networks called as soon as polls closed, awarded him the state's entire allotment of 29 delegates. But it was the competition here in Michigan, a state steeped in Romney history, that he was hoping would help ease concerns that conservatives have raised about his candidacy. Republican officials said that voter turnout seemed to be far from overwhelming across Michigan, despite a hard-fought contest that featured Mr. Santorum trying to make a key stand against Mr. Romney. It was the larger share of Michigan's 30 delegates, rather than the statewide popular vote, that both candidates were fighting for. As the polls closed here on Tuesday evening, Mr. Romney and Mr. Santorum were separated by the narrowest of margins. Those early returns, along with exit polls of voters, suggested that the race was going to be one of the closest yet in an unruly Republican nominating contest. It was not an overstatement - at least in the opinion of many Republicans - to say Mr. Romney's candidacy was on the line in Michigan, far more than in the previous eight contests this year. He was born here, and his father, George, is fondly remembered for his service as governor nearly a half-century ago. And four years ago, Mr. Romney won the state by nine percentage points. But after losing a string of contests to Mr. Santorum, Mr. Romney was hardly greeted with warmth and affection. A place that his advisers hoped would offer an easy victory turned into a fierce battleground, with Mr. Santorum's popularity among social conservatives, as well as his working-class appeal, threatening to complicate Mr. Romney's path to the nomination. Mr. Romney accepted a share of blame for his struggle to make the case that he is the party's strongest prospective nominee, but he declared, "I am who I am." He said he would not "light my hair on fire" to win over skeptical conservatives in the Republican Party. "It's very easy to excite the base with incendiary comments," Mr. Romney told reporters Tuesday before the polls closed. We've seen throughout the campaign that if you're willing to say really outrageous things that are accusatory and attacking President Obama that you're going to jump up in the polls. As the Republican nominating contest enters its third month, the race is far from settled. Representative Ron Paul of Texas has built an extensive network of supporters in caucus states, including several of the Super Tuesday contests. Newt Gingrich, who did not campaign in Michigan, is focusing on a Southern swath of Super Tuesday states to revive his candidacy. Against the backdrop of a slowly rebounding economy, the Michigan primary offered an early test of the challenges Republicans will face when they confront Mr. Obama in the fall. The revival of the automobile industry played a central role in the campaign, particularly the 2008 government rescue, which Mr. Romney and Mr. Santorum opposed. The economy overwhelmed all other issues, according to exit polls in Michigan, with more than half of voters saying it was the most important factor in their decision. About one quarter of voters said the federal budget deficit mattered most. Michigan's economic woes preceded the rest of the country's downturn. When voters cast ballots in November 2008, the state had the highest unemployment in the nation at 9.9 percent, compared with the national rate of 6.5 percent. Unemployment peaked at 14.1 percent in 2009, but has steadily improved since then to 9.3 percent, which is still higher than the national unemployment rate of 8.3 percent. About 3 in 10 Michigan voters on Tuesday said someone in their household had lost a job in the last three years, according to surveys of those leaving polls conducted by Edison Research for the National Election Pool of television networks and The Associated Press. Those early exit poll results suggested that the voters in Michigan were narrowly divided. Mr. Romney did best with the more affluent voters, city residents and those who consider themselves somewhat conservative. Mr. Santorum was supported by union members, evangelical Christians and those who think of themselves as very conservative. Steven Yaccino contributed reporting from Bloomfield Hills, Mich.; Michael Barbaro from Livonia, Mich.; and Marjorie Connelly from New York.