Romney handily wins AZ, edges Santorum in Mich.

His two-state primary sweep over Rick Santorum gains him precious momentum in the most turbulent Republican presidential race in a generation.

"We didn't win by a lot, but we won by enough," Romney told cheering supporters in Michigan.

"On to the March contests," he said, looking ahead to next week's Super Tuesday races that could go a long way toward determining the Republican who will take on Democrat President Obama this fall.

Santorum was already campaigning in Ohio, one of next week's states, when the verdict came in from Michigan.

"A month ago they didn't know who we are, but they do now," Santorum told his own supporters, vowing to stay the conservative course he has set.

The two other candidates, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul, made little effort in either Michigan or Arizona, pointing instead to next week's collection of contests in all corners of the country.

Romney's Arizona triumph came in a race that was scarcely contested, and he pocketed all of the 29 Republican National Convention delegates at stake in the winner-take-all state.

In Arizona, with votes counted from 86 percent of the precincts, Romney had 47 percent, Santorum 26 percent, Gingrich 16 percent and Paul 8 percent. The state's primary was closed to all but registered Republicans.

Romney's rivals spent little time campaigning in the state and no money advertising on its television airwaves.

Michigan was as different as could be - a hard-fought and expensive battle in Romney's home state that he could ill afford to lose and Santorum made every effort to win.

Returns from 97 percent of Michigan's precincts showed Romney at 41 percent and Santorum at 38 percent. Paul was winning 12 percent of the vote to 7 percent for Gingrich.

In Michigan, 30 delegates were apportioned according to the popular vote. Two were set aside for the winner of each of the state's 14 congressional districts. The remaining two delegates were likely to be divided between the top finishers in the statewide vote.

With his victory in Arizona, Romney had 152 delegates, according to the AP's count, compared with 72 for Santorum, 32 for Gingrich and 19 for Paul. It takes 1,144 to win the nomination at the Republican National Convention in Tampa next summer.

In interviews as they left their polling places, Michigan voters expressed a notable lack of enthusiasm about their choices. Just 45 percent said they strongly favored the candidate they voted for, while 38 percent expressed reservations and 16 percent said they made the choice they did because they disliked the alternatives.

Analysts said Romney landed no knock-out punch on Santorum. Nor is it likely the GOP contest will ease its emphasis on social issues, such as Catholic birth-control doctrine, which gives President Obama a clearer lane to highlight the slightly improving economy.

Romney signaled he intends to stick to his core campaign message of fixing the economy and reducing unemployment in a nation still recovering from the worst recession in decades. "More jobs, less debt and smaller government - you're going to hear that" over and over in the states ahead, he said.

Exit polling showed a plurality of Republican voters in both Michigan and Arizona saying the most important factor to them in the primaries was that a candidate be able to beat Obama in November. Romney won that group in Michigan, where it mattered most, and also prevailed among voters in the state who said experience was the quality that mattered most.

Santorum ran particularly well among voters who cited a desire for strong conservatism or strong moral character. The polls surveyed both primary day and absentee or early voters.

Not even the opening of voting booths on Tuesday brought an end to the squabbling between the two leading Republicans.

Romney accused Santorum of trying to hijack a victory in Michigan by courting Democratic votes through automated telephone calls and suggested his rival was appealing to conservatives by making the kind of "incendiary" statements he would not.

"I'm not willing to light my hair on fire to try and get support," Romney said. "I am what I am."

Santorum brushed aside the allegations of hijacking, saying Romney had appealed for support from independents in earlier states.

The Michigan primary was open to Republicans or any voters who declared they were Republican for the purpose of voting. And a dozen years ago, John McCain defeated the heavily favored George W. Bush, relying on the support of Michigan independents and Democrats.

Mitt romney

Arizona

47%

percent of vote

Michigan

41%

percent of vote

rick santorum

Arizona

26%

percent of vote

Michigan

38%

percent of vote

ron paul

Arizona

8%

percent of vote

Michigan

12%

percent of vote

newt gingrich

Arizona

16%

percent of vote

Michigan

7%

percent of vote