Following his defeats in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri on Tuesday, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney looked to establish a citadel in Michigan which holds its primary on Feb. 28.

Besides his father, George Romney, serving as governor of Michigan in the 1960s, Mitt Romney won the state in 2008, beating John McCain by almost 10 percent. A host of Michigan Republicans -- led by Congressmen Fred Upton and Tim Walberg -- endorsed Romney on Wednesday ... Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich added to his team in his home base of Georgia. Former U.S. Sen. Mack Mattingly, the Republican to represent Georgia in the Senate since Reconstruction, endorsed Gingrich on Wednesday. Mattingly was elected in 1980, defeating longtime Southern Democrat Herman Talmadge, but he lost in 1986 to Wyche Fowler. Mattingly also fell up short in an attempted comeback in 2000 against then-U.S. Sen. Zell Miller ... Romney also added to his bench in Georgia this week when he won the endorsement of state Rep. David Casas who represents part of Gwinnett County ...

As the Republican contest continues and the map expands, other states come into play ... Oklahoma will be part of Super Tuesday on March 6. According to an American Research Group poll released on Wednesday, Gingrich leads in the Sooner State with 34 percent followed by Romney with 31 percent. Rick Santorum stands in third with 16 percent followed by Ron Paul who pulls 10 percent ... North Carolina does not hold its primary until May 8. According to a poll released on Wednesday by Public Policy Polling -- a firm with connections to prominent Democrats -- Romney and Gingrich are tied in the Tarheel State with 30 percent each, followed by Santorum with 20 percent and Paul with 11 percent ... Idaho will be holding its caucus on March 6, and Romney added to his team in the Gem State on Wednesday as he won the backing of 11 state senators and 16 state representatives. Romney has already won the endorsements of many of the state’s leading Republicans, including Gov. Butch Otter, Lt. Gov. Brad Little, U.S. Sen. Jim Risch and U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson ...

Virginia will be one of the leading battlegrounds in November, and a Quinnipiac University poll of the Old Dominion released on Wednesday finds that President Barack Obama leads the four Republican candidates there. Obama takes 47 percent when matched up against Romney, who garners 43 percent. The Democrat incumbent does much better against the other Republican challengers: Obama beats Paul by 7 percent, Santorum by 8 percent and Gingrich by 14 percent. Still, Obama only breaks 50 percent against Gingrich, taking 51 percent, while the former congressional leader lags with 37 percent ... Obama continues cruising along, romping through the Democratic primaries. The president won the Missouri primary on Tuesday night with 88 percent. Pro-life activist Randall Terry placed second with 3 percent. This is only the second time Obama pulled less than 90 percent in primaries and caucuses this year. Obama pulled 82 percent in the New Hampshire primary ... Three Republican candidates who have already pulled out of the race -- Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, businessman Herman Cain and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota -- garnered 1 percent apiece in Missouri on Tuesday ...
 
Almost 1,000 registered Libertarians voted in the Missouri primary on Tuesday. James Ogle, a Californian who wants to see America adopt a parliamentary system, won with 53 percent, while the rest were uncommitted ... Ogle won’t be on the ballot in North Carolina where Libertarians will hold a primary. It’s the first time there will be a presidential primary outside the two major parties in the state. Former Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico will be on the ballot. Five other Libertarian hopefuls -- Roger Gary, R. J. Harris, Carl Person, Bill Still and Lee Wrights -- will also be on the ballot ... Last week, a federal judge struck down parts of Tennessee’s new law on minor parties, allowing both the Constitution Party and the Green Party on the ballot in the Volunteer State ... Former Gov. Buddy Roemer of Louisiana remains in the running for the Republican nomination and the Americans Elect nomination. Now, activists in the Reform Party are launching a bid to draft Roemer for their nomination. Roemer has spoken to the Reform Party of New Jersey, but has not jumped in the battle for the party’s nomination.



Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.