Santorum's Plan to Draw Democrat Voters Fizzles

Rick Santorum’s plan to use Democrats to defeat GOP rival Mitt Romney in Michigan not only came up short but didn’t come close to the cross-over totals in 2000. About 5 percent of the vote for the former Pennsylvania senator came from Democrats, The Washington Post political blog The Fix reported.

In addition to Santorum making a push for Democratic votes, which Romney labeled a dirty trick, Democrats launched their own plan to meddle in the Republican primary — Operation Hilarity.

The Fix noted that some 9 percent of voters identified themselves as Democrats in exit polls and that number was higher than in previous contests this season. However, the number was just slightly higher than in 2008 when there was a Democratic primary and the “effort paled in comparison to the last time there was a real campaign to get Democrats to cross over.”

Democrats made up some 5 percent of the vote for Santorum but made up about 14 percent of the vote for Sen. John McCain in 2000. Similar support for Santorum would have probably given him the victory in Michigan, the Post concluded.