Michigan Republicans Vote

It's finally here.

Photograph by The Detroit News

After weeks of fierce campaigning between Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum in the Wolverine State, voters are heading to the polls as I write this. They are not only awarding delegates tonight, but quite possibly sacred momentum to the eventual victor, as the candidates sprint through 13 contests in one week.

So what should you look out for?

1. Delegates - Michigan awards their 30 delegates proportionally, so the difference between winning, and losing will matter in the delegate race, especially since Romney's guaranteed 29 to start the night off from Arizona's winnter-take-all primary bout, which he leads by almost twenty points right now.

2. Democrats - Michigan is another of those open primary states, where anyone can vote in the GOP, or Democrat races, regardless of registration. And today that matters, because Democrats and unions are actively encouraging cross-over voting to sabotage Romney's small lead among Republicans, not to mention Santorum's robo-calls to Democrats attacking Romney for opposing the auto bailouts.

3. Voting - Almost 20% of all votes cast will have been absentees, or early votes, which Romney has worked hard on getting. Some estimate near 60% of those early ballots are for Romney, so if turnout falls below expectations, or if he performs equal to Santorum in votes cast today, he will comfortably win.

Most importantly, if you reside in Michigan and you're a Republican, please head out to the polls and vote!

What say you?