Elections

Santorum appealing to some unlikely voters: Democrats

Alexa Fee Contributor
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Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is turning to an unlikely group of people for support in Tuesday’s Republican primary in Michigan: Democrats.

Rick Santorum for President has paid for a series of robocalls to Michigan Democrats asking them to vote for Santorum in the Republican primary as a way to speak out against opponent Mitt Romney’s lack of support for the bailout of the auto industry, the Detroit News reported.

“Romney supported the bailouts for his Wall Street billionaire buddies but opposed the auto bailouts,” the call says. “That was a slap in the face to every Michigan worker, and we’re not going to let Romney get away with it.”

It also attacks Romney’s Massachusetts connection by referring to him as “Massachusetts Mitt Romney.” The former governor was born and raised in Michigan, and has been trying to emphasize that during his campaign.

In an interview on “Fox and Friends,” Romney called Santorum’s appeal to Democrats “outrageous and disgusting,”

He said Republicans “don’t want Democrats deciding who our nominee is going to be.”

Tuesday’s Michigan primary is open to registered voters of either party.

Santorum defended his appeal to Democrats, saying that drawing bipartisan support is crucial to winning the presidency.

“Encouraging people to come and vote for us because we talk about our manufacturing plan and how we’re going to create jobs? It’s a very positive robocall,” he said during a Monday interview on Fox News.

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