Michigan and Arizona Primaries Unlikely to Settle Much The intensity of the rhetorical battle between Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum before the primaries in Michigan and Arizona would suggest that a denouement might finally be at hand. But it's possible that little will be settled Tuesday night. In part, that's because the race in Michigan appears to be very close; a matter of just a few thousand votes could separate the victor from his nearest competitor. Winning by a hair will hardly confer unstoppable momentum. There's also the delegate count. Almost all of Michigan's delegates are awarded at the district level - two delegates for the winner of each Congressional District. The rules raise the real possibility that the winner of the popular vote is on the losing end of the delegate tally. And finally, there's Arizona. A decisive win there for Mr. Romney - who is far ahead in the state polls, even as he struggles in Michigan - would muddle the political picture from the two contests even further. In the end, both Mr. Romney and Mr. Santorum are likely to declare victory on Tuesday night but wake up on Wednesday morning facing the same reality: another week of intense campaigning before 10 states hold their presidential contests on March 6, Super Tuesday. "We've got four candidates all battling it out, and this isn't going to be over in a day or two," Mr. Romney told reporters on Tuesday. Mr. Santorum seems to agree. He said on Saturday that the Republican contest was "going to go a long time" and vowed to "fight fire with fire" against attacks from Mr. Romney. That's not to suggest that the outcomes in Michigan and Arizona are meaningless. A victory for Mr. Santorum in Michigan, no matter how small, would intensify the questions about Mr. Romney's ability to connect with conservative voters. If Mr. Romney loses in the state where he grew up, his campaign will have to explain how he survives the rest of the primary season - and how Mr. Romney wins the state during the general election. If Mr. Romney wins in Michigan and Arizona, Mr. Santorum's campaign may be forced to take a new look at his campaign's recent focus on social and religious issues. Donors, in particular, will want to know how he intends to broaden his message to appeal beyond the party's conservative base. But both campaigns now view the next six weeks as a slog in which none of the individual contests have the potential to determine the nominee. That slog is mostly about delegates. Each candidate is racing toward the magic number of 1,144 delegates - the amount needed to claim the presidential nomination. But there's also a need for the candidates to prove that they can build on their successes and win a broad cross-section of Republican voters. The voting on Super Tuesday may provide that opportunity as voters in the South, the Rust Belt and the Northeast all cast ballots. Newt Gingrich is hoping that the contests in Georgia (his home state), Oklahoma and Tennessee will provide him a chance to get back into the race. And Ron Paul is betting that his performance in some of the caucuses that day will help his effort. But without any more debates scheduled, Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Paul are likely to struggle for attention.