Romney, Santorum make final appeals, compete to set expectations in Michigan

On the eve of a critical primary day, Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum attempted to recalibrate expectations in Michigan -- where Santorum could deal a devastating blow to Romney on Tuesday.

Republican voters will weigh in on the GOP nominating contests in Michigan and Arizona on Tuesday. Romney is expected to win in Arizona, but the race has been very close in Michigan, where Romney was born and raised. A loss in Michigan would be a serious setback for Romney, while Santorum could claim the mantle of frontrunner.

Santorum surged to the lead in Michigan after sweeping three nominating contests earlier this month, but recent polls show now the race tightening up. Most polls out of Michigan this month put Santorum's lead within a range of three to 10 points, but Monday, Romney cited the one poll (from the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling) that put Santorum ahead by 15 points.

"Well, this sure has been fun these last 10 days or so," Romney told a crowd of about 350 people in Albion, Michigan. "We started off -- what, 15 points down in the polls. Now we are leading in the polls. Thanks, you guys. Appreciate the support."

Romney failed to mention that ahead of Santorum's hat trick in Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado, Romney held a 15-point lead in some polls out of Michigan.

Earlier in the day in Rockland, Michigan, Romney slammed Santorum for his lack of private sector experience. Referencing the Wall Street Journal op-ed Santorum published today about the economy, Romney said, "I'm glad he recognizes this is going to be a campaign about the economy. It's time for him to really focus on the economy and for you to all say, okay if the economy is going to be the issue we focus on, who has the experience to actually get this economy going again?"

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The Santorum campaign, meanwhile, spent Monday reminding reporters how unexpected it was to see Santorum at the top of the polls in Michigan.

"As you can imagine, I am pretty excited to be here," Santorum said in Livonia, Michigan. "This is not a place that, frankly, I thought we were going to be competing at the level that we're competing."

Santorum adviser John Brabender told CNN the former Pennsylvania senator has "already won" the Michigan primary. "No matter what the results are, we've won," he said. " This is Romney's home state."

Santorum has taken heat recently for trailing from his economic agenda to broach topics like the value of higher education, the role of religion in public life and what he called President Obama's "phony" theologyabout environmentalism. On Monday, the candidate tackled both economic and social issues.

"All reporters in the back they say, 'Oh, there's Santorum talking about social issues again," he said. "No, I'm talking about freedom. I'm talking about government imposing themselves on your lives."

Meanwhile, Rep. Ron Paul also hit the campaign trail hard, hoping to get a piece of the action in Michigan, where delegates will be rewarded proportionally.

Paul attended a town hall at the Little Rock Baptist Church in Detroit, where he spoke to issues impacting the poverty-stricken area. He applied his hands-off foreign policy to Detroit, noting that instead of making bombs overseas, the U.S. could be making cars in Detroit.

There's a chance some Democrats could vote in the primary by temporarily declaring themselves Republican. When asked about those voters, Paul acknowledged they may be trying to foil the Republican primary, but he said there's a chance he could win over some unconventional GOP voters.

"If you're coming over, all I ask them is consider my policies," he said. "Maybe they'd end up voting for Ron Paul."

Newt Gingrich spent Monday looking forward to Super Tuesday and beyond.

At an event in Nashville, Tennessee (where Republicans vote on March 6, Super Tuesday), Gingrich said he hopes to do well on Super Tuesday and to win Mississippi and Alabama the following week. He also expressed optimism about winning Texas' 155 delegates and reiterated his intention to go all the way to the nominating convention. "I have the longest record of any candidate in this race to somehow re-emerge over and over again," he said.

With reporting from CBS News/ National Journal reporters Sarah Boxer, Rebecca Kaplan, Lindsey Boerma and Sarah Huisenga.