TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan (Reuters) – In a tight race to win the Michigan primary, Republican White House hopeful Mitt Romney strongly defended his wealth on Sunday and challenged voters to support someone else if they did not like his success.

Romney is worth an estimated $250 million and has been accused of being out of touch with most Americans’ economic struggles.

TROY, Michigan (Reuters) – White House hopefuls Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum battled over who was the most conservative Republican on Saturday and knocked President Barack Obama over soaring gasoline prices as the high-octane race in Michigan moved toward a still-uncertain finish.

With three days to go before voting starts in the state where Romney grew up, the two top contenders worked to shore up local support in a bid to keep momentum as the unpredictable race for the Republican presidential nomination rounds the next bend.

DETROIT (Reuters) – After a week in which Rick Santorum’s presidential campaign often seemed focused on issues like pre-natal testing, abortion and religion, the message from the Republican Party’s establishment was becoming clear on Friday: We’ve had enough.

Santorum, battling Mitt Romney in what polls say is a tight race in Tuesday’s crucial primary in Michigan, sought to tilt the narrative of his campaign toward jobs and the economy Friday evening with a speech in Lincoln Park, Michigan.

MOUNT CLEMENS, Michigan (Reuters) – Are there any more Mitts out there? Mitt Romney is looking for them.

Campaigning in Michigan, the Republican presidential candidate took a liking to a restaurant called The Mitt on Friday. The pizza eatery was not actually named after Romney, a native son of Michigan but it inspired Romney to give a history of his name and how he has searched in vain for other Mitts.

DETROIT, Feb 24 (Reuters) – Mitt Romney on
Friday declared himself the Republican presidential
candidate with “the only chance” to defeat President Barack
Obama as he seized on signs that rival Rick Santorum’s grip on
Michigan appears to be slipping.

Romney vowed to bring fundamental change to rebuild the U.S.
economy with fiscally conservative policies, a message he hopes
will help him make a comeback in the hard-hit state where he was
born and where Santorum is threatening to score an upset.

MILFORD, Michigan (Reuters) – Republican Mitt Romney assailed presidential rival Rick Santorum on Thursday for abandoning his conservative principles, pushing a line of attack that polls show is helping him close the gap on his rival in the battleground state of Michigan.

Romney fired a new burst of criticism at the former Pennsylvania senator one day after he repeatedly put Santorum on the defensive in an Arizona debate for backing big spending bills in Congress.

MESA, Arizona (Reuters) – Mitt Romney is fighting his way back into the driving seat in the Republican presidential race, putting in a strong debate performance in Arizona and gaining in polls against conservative rival Rick Santorum.

An aggressive Romney repeatedly put Santorum on the defensive in a CNN debate on Wednesday and attacked the former U.S. senator and staunch social conservative for supporting big-spending government programs.

MESA, Arizona (Reuters) – Rivals heaped criticism on surprise front-runner Rick Santorum in a debate among U.S. Republican presidential candidates on Wednesday, hoping to stall his surge at a pivotal period in the 2012 campaign.

Mitt Romney and libertarian congressman Ron Paul tried to raise doubts about Santorum and questioned his fiscal conservative credentials based on his time in the U.S. Congress when he was an easy backer of government spending projects deemed wasteful by critics.

MESA, Arizona (Reuters) – Rick Santorum finally got his chance at center stage in a debate of Republican presidential candidates on Wednesday that represented the best chance to address large numbers of voters before a pivotal period in the 2012 campaign.

Santorum, surging in opinion polls, was likely to face tough questions over his strong conservative views on social issues as he and rivals Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul began the debate sponsored by CNN.