WIXOM, Michigan – Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney may have won Michigan’s Republican primary Tuesday but young people remain skeptical.
Jane Ugrinovskiy, a first year student at College for Creative Studies in Detroit, said, “I’m not happy he won. He doesn’t believe in Michigan.”
“At the same time,” she said, “there’s not a good Republican to vote for either. While I usually side Republican, I can’t this election.”
Romney defeated top challenger Rick Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, by a 41-38 margin in the GOP primary. Romney remains the most likely Republican to get his party’s backing to challenge incumbent President Barack Obama in November.
On the day of the primary, high school students around Michigan did not show much concern with the voting – and they were still blasé about it after the ballots were counted. However, most high school students are too young to vote themselves.
College students, who are usually old enough to vote, were more passionate. But at least some are not too thrilled about Romney.
Josh Foster, a first year student at Michigan State University, said, “I personally do not think Mitt Romney should have won the Michigan primary.”
“Though he has a fair grasp of economics, his views on civil rights are archaic at best,” Foster said.
Romney “is a master of pandering to whoever he thinks holds the most power over his campaign and in that regard he is a true politician. I do not think a man who is so quick to change his opinion on laws that would govern people’s lives should be in a position of power,” Foster said.
“He is a man who says he fights for the American Ideal but constantly seems to forget what that it is,” Foster said.
Kate Lambert, a University of Michigan student who calls herself a liberal Democrat, said Romney’s win was “not much of a victory in my eyes. Sure, he won the popular vote in Michigan, but Santorum trailed closely behind and the two both acquired 15 delegates.”
She said, “This must have been at least partly due to Democrats who decided to vote for Santorum and the other minor candidates to take away votes from Romney.
Regardless, Romney had the extra advantage of having grown up in Michigan, although his respect for our state was poorly reflected in his pitiful ‘I love cars’ speech.”
A Central Michigan student, Megan Blaze, said that she didn’t follow the primary closely but she’s glad that Santorum did not win.
It appears that, at least for college students in Michigan, Romney’s win may only have meant that people disliked him less than his competitors.
Monica Blaze is a Reporter for Youth Journalism International in Michigan.