Romney, Santorum lock horns in make-or-break debate

Republican presidential candidates Rick Santorum (L) and Mitt Romney take part in a debate in Mesa, Arizona. In the last televised debate before two key polls next week -- and before so-called "Super Tuesday" on March 6 -- the two men sniped at each other from the outset of the three-hour CNN-moderated debate, notably on fiscal issues. © AFP Don Emmert

MESA, Arizona – Struggling Republican White House hopeful Mitt Romney locked horns with his surging rival Rick Santorum, in a crucial TV debate as the pair vie for frontrunner status.

In the last televised debate before two key polls next week — and before so-called “Super Tuesday” on March 6 — the two men sniped at each other from the outset of the three-hour CNN-moderated debate, notably on fiscal issues.

“You’re misrepresenting the facts. You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Santorum told Romney bluntly in the debate in Arizona, one of two states holding Republican primaries next Tuesday.

Romney, who is battling to retain his frontrunner status against the Christian conservative, lambasted Santorum’s voting record during his time as a senator from Pennsylvania.

“During his term in the senate, spending grew by some 80 percent in the federal budget,” Romney said, referring to “a whole series of votes. Voting to fund planned parenthood, expand the department of education.”

Santorum soared from a distant third into pole position after a trio of wins earlier this month in the state-by-state voting contest to decide who takes on Democratic President Barack Obama in November’s general election.

Romney, who seemed to have a lock on the Republican nomination after trouncing his rivals in Florida and Nevada, is desperate to stop the rot and has launched a major advertising blitz before next week’s votes.

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich waves as he is introduced at a debate sponsored by CNN and the Republican Party of Arizona at the Mesa Arts Center in Mesa, Arizona. The debate is the last one scheduled before voters head to the polls in Michigan and Arizona's primaries on February 28 and Super Tuesday on March 6. © AFP/Getty Images Ethan Miller

Up for grabs on February 28 are Michigan, where Romney was born and his father was governor, and Arizona, another supposed Romney stronghold where a significant proportion of the electorate shares his Mormon faith.

Both states were considered shoo-ins for Romney until a short time ago, but such has been the extent of Santorum’s popular surge that the Christian conservative now has a chance of taking both.

A Santorum win in either would be a huge blow to Romney going into “Super Tuesday” on March 6, when 10 states vote simultaneously in a potentially decisive night for the Republican race.

A Quinnipiac University poll out Wednesday found Santorum leading Romney 35-26 percent among nationwide Republicans, followed by former House speaker Newt Gingrich at 14 percent and Texas congressman Ron Paul at 11 percent.

But the poll found that Obama would defeat Santorum in a general election while an Obama-Romney face-off would be too close to call, adding fuel to Republican concerns about Santorum’s electability in a general election.

“This week is very important,” Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, told AFP as Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, geared up for the debate.

Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul hold signs outside the Mesa Arts Center before a debate sponsored by CNN and the Republican Party of Arizona between Republican presidential candidates. The debate is the last one scheduled before voters head to the polls in Michigan and Arizona's primaries on February 28 and Super Tuesday on March 6. © AFP/Getty Images Ethan Miller

“If he were to lose Michigan, the story will be that he can’t even win the state where he was born and grew up and where his father was governor. On the other hand, if he wins Michigan, he is the comeback kid.”

The Republican establishment fears Santorum, a fierce opponent of gay marriage and abortion, could be a liability in a head-to-head contest with Obama as his moralizing could turn off independent voters.

Romney, employing the same tactic he used to good effect in Iowa and Florida to see off strong challenges from Gingrich, has launched a barrage of vitriolic attack ads against his chief opponent.

His ad campaign appears to have had some success in Michigan as the latest polling data showed him edging back into the lead, erasing a double-digit margin in Santorum’s favor last week.

An NBC News/Marist poll put Romney on 37 percent, Santorum on 35, with Paul on 13 and Gingrich trailing the field with just eight percent of the vote.

Romney received a boost hours before the debate, when he was endorsed by Michigan’s second largest paper, The Detroit News.

In Arizona, more than 200,000 people had already cast ballots before the debate, officials said Wednesday. “I would say turnout is good,” Evonne Reed, spokeswoman for the Maricopa County Recorder’s office, told CNN.

Romney’s strong debates in Florida were important in his turnaround in fortunes there, while Gingrich’s stellar performances in South Carolina saw the former House speaker briefly surge ahead in the topsy-turvy race.