Romney slams Santorum’s ‘dirty campaign tricks’

Mitt Romney accused rival Rick Santorum of dirty tricks, for encouraging Democrats to defeat him in Michigan’s primary as voters determined his fate in his home state.

Romney, running neck-and-neck with rival Republican presidential candidate Santorum in opinion polls, charged that his opponent was trying to “kidnap” the party’s primary process in Michigan by appealing to Democrats to cast their votes in the contest that was open to supporters of both parties.

Romney’s father was a popular Michigan governor and Romney was born and raised in Michigan. But a poll underscored how the former Massachusetts governor is still viewed with suspicion by conservative Republicans.