INSTANT VIEW: Romney wins Michigan Republican primary

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won the Michigan Republican primary on Tuesday, salvaging his White House campaign and stopping the surge of rival John McCain, an Arizona senator. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee came in third.

Following is reaction.

U.S. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN OF ARIZONA

"For a minute there in New Hampshire I thought this campaign might be getting easier. But you know what? We've gotten pretty good at doing things the hard way, too. And I think we've shown them, we don't mind a fight."

FORMER ARKANSAS GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE

"I congratulate Mitt Romney. He won a great race. He worked hard. He, of course, has a great base there, but our hats are off to him for his victory there tonight.

"So it looks like that I won Iowa; John McCain won New Hampshire; Mitt Romney won Michigan. Ladies and gentlemen, we're going to win South Carolina!

"We put a flag in the ground here Saturday. We're going to make it real clear, that the first-in-the-South primary is going to give their support to the first-in-the-South candidate who understands that this nation needs leadership, and leadership that comes right from the Earth and right from the heart of the people."

DENISE DECOOK, POLITICAL CONSULTANT WITH MARKETING RESOURCE

GROUP IN LANSING, MICHIGAN

"He (Romney) knew what Michigan wanted to talk about and he talked about it: the economy. Sometimes somebody takes a while to figure out what they stand for, what they want to talk about. Mitt Romney is a different candidate than he was in New Hampshire. I think he has a message that could resonate beyond Michigan. People look in their back pocket, and this is especially true in Michigan."

SOUTH CAROLINA SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, REPUBLICAN, A MCCAIN

SUPPORTER

"We're going to win in South Carolina. John McCain fits the state and the times very well, so I'm excited about the next four days and we're going to be electing the total package, social and economic conservatism that doesn't change based on the audience."

MERLE BLACK, POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR AT EMORY

UNIVERSITY IN ATLANTA

"It hurts McCain's momentum. ... It would've helped him if he had been able to put two consecutive victories together.

"But McCain is still very competitive in South Carolina and Florida. So McCain will survive this loss, and it clearly indicates there is no consensus among Republicans about their nominee."

SCOTT REED, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST

"(Former New York Mayor Rudy) Giuliani, the national front-runner, finished behind Ron Paul in Michigan. Giuliani is finished.

"I think the winner in South Carolina has the chance to catch the momentum and carry this through Super Tuesday."

SAUL ANUZIS, CHAIRMAN OF MICHIGAN'S REPUBLICAN PARTY

"The bottom line is he (Romney) appealed to Michigan on the issues that matter here, and that's the economy and jobs. The national recession is catching up to the Michigan recession, so I think the message will travel to other states. Michigan is a good bellwether."

WASHINGTON-BASED REPUBLICAN POLLSTER NEIL NEWHOUSE, QUOTED

ON DETROIT NEWS WEB SITE

"You've got to give the guy a ton of credit for winning a state he had to pull through."

(Reporting by Joanne Kenen, Jeremy Pelofsky, JoAnne Allen; Writing by Eric Walsh)