John McCain's Michigan nightmare: Mitt Romney

John McCain played the spoiler in 2000, upending frontrunner George W. Bush in the February Michigan primary and momentarily casting doubt on Bush's party coronation.

As 2008 looms, McCain is the frontrunner - and, ironically, Michigan could prove his undoing.

That's because McCain's chief challenger in '08 is likely to be Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. With pro-life, pro-military pedigrees, both will appeal to the party base so crucial to winning GOP primaries (exit Rudy G). But as much as Michigan is war hero McCain's kind of state, it's also friendly territory to Romney. The Michigan Republican Party has already split between these two lions, with powerbrokers like AG Cox (McCain) and House speaker Deroche (Romney) marking territory.

Here's why the smart money is on Mitt in the mitt-shaped state:

Read the full story at The Detroit News.

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