By Steve Holland
February 17, 2012 11:19 PM EST
Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's struggles in Michigan are fueling speculation that Republicans might have to resort to a doomsday scenario and launch a frantic search for a 2012 savior at their nominating convention in late August.
Rare in the modern age of U.S. politics, a so-called brokered convention could result in Republicans ditching their current crop of candidates and turning to someone else who they feel would have a better chance of defeating Democratic President Barack Obama in the Nov. 6 election.
How did Republicans get to this point? Romney's failure to get conservatives fully behind him and put down yet another challenger in the party -- this time, it's Rick Santorum -- is causing angst in the party.
Many senior Republicans do not think Santorum, a social conservative caught up in the U.S. culture wars over issues such as abortion and contraception, has a chance to beat Obama if he wins the party's presidential nomination.
When he ran for re-election as a U.S. senator from Pennsylvania in 2006, Santorum lost by 18 percentage points. But, nevertheless, he is exposing Romney's weaknesses in Michigan, where Santorum leads polls ahead of the big Midwestern state's Feb. 28 primary.
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A Romney loss to Santorum in Michigan, the state where he was born and where his father was governor, would only intensify the talk about a weak Republican field and feed demands for someone else as the party's candidate to challenge Obama.
"It's hard for me to see how Romney rights the ship if he loses Michigan," said Republican strategist Matt Mackowiak. "There is no level of spin that can overcome that disaster."
Michigan will set the table for Super Tuesday, the March 6 jackpot when 10 states hold Republican nominating contests. A loss for Romney in Michigan would raise serious doubts over whether he can rally enough support to have a big day on Super Tuesday and make a big move toward clinching the nomination.
The candidates are engaging in a state-by-state battle to become the Republican nominee. The party will officially pick a nominee at its August convention in Tampa, Fla.
Romney is the best-financed and -organized of the Republican candidates and long has been considered the likely nominee. But the former Massachusetts governor and private-equity executive has failed so far to take control of the race.
Who would Republicans turn to if not Romney or Santorum? Think of two popular governors, Mitch Daniels of Indiana and Chris Christie of New Jersey, or former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, or even U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, author of a budget plan popular with Republicans.
All four men turned down appeals to run for president earlier in the campaign but might be persuaded to jump in with enough arm-twisting.
Palin Offers Help
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a champion of the conservative Tea Party movement, is making noises about being willing to "help" at a brokered convention. That notion sounds suspiciously like she would love to have her own name thrown into the mix, if even only as a kingmaker.
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