GOP presidential race will drag on, Romney backers say

DETROIT — No matter what happens in Tuesday's primaries in Michigan and Arizona or the March 6 Super Tuesday elections, one of Mitt Romney's key advisers says the race won't be over anytime soon.

"It's not a coronation, it's a process," said former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, who is traveling around the country with Romney. "This isn't 'American Idol' where they have a show and announce the winner."

While Romney's campaigners have always attempted to manage expectations for his performance at the polls, it appears they may be resigned to an even more protracted battle to the GOP nomination.

"This is going to be a long race. There are going to be ebbs and flows," Leavitt said, predicting that Romney will do well in the upcoming elections but "there will likely be something for everybody to cheer about."

The former member of President George W. Bush's cabinet said Romney supporters should steel themselves even though they'd "like to see this as a horse race with a clean and crisp finish."

Romney had been trailing in Michigan behind former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, sparking new suggestions that none of the candidates currently in the race may end up being the party's choice at the national convention in August.

After Santorum swept caucuses earlier this month in Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota, he became the latest candidate to emerge as an alternative for Republicans attempting to unseat Romney as the front-runner.

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich had assumed that role following a big victory in South Carolina. Gingrich's support faded, however, after his loss to Romney in Florida.

And the fourth candidate still in contention, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, a former Libertarian Party candidate for president, has a loyal and committed following that has helped him amass delegates.

The "enthusiasm gap" among voters that has plagued Romney since the start of the campaign doesn't seem to be closing. And in Michigan, the state where Romney was raised and his father served as governor, the gap could spell serious trouble.

"He's the kind of guy it's hard to be enthusiastic about," Michigan State University political science professor Paul Abramson said. "He doesn't, let's say, radiate a lot of personal warmth. People may think he's competent."