Rice Expert Alert: Brace available to comment on Arizona and Michigan primaries

David Ruth
713-348-6327
david@rice.edu

Amy Hodges
713-348-6777
amy.hodges@rice.edu

HOUSTON — (Feb. 28, 2012) — As the GOP presidential contenders head into the Arizona and Michigan primaries, Rice University political scientist Paul Brace is available to discuss the candidates’ current standing in the Republican race for the White House.

Brace said after Mitt Romney’s three surprise losses to Rick Santorum and national polls indicating a virtual tie between them, losing both Arizona and Michigan would raise serious doubts about Romney’s “inevitability” going into Super Tuesday.

“In recent weeks, he has seen Rick Santorum surge in his former home state of Michigan and eat away at his lead in Arizona,” Brace said. “At a minimum, Santorum’s surge could prolong this GOP horse race for many more weeks. More drastically, it could permanently jeopardize Romney’s claim of electability in a way that his formidable organizational and financial advantages may not restore itself in time for a neck-to-neck matchup with President Obama.”

Brace is the Clarence L. Carter Professor of Political Science at Rice. He is co-author of “Follow the Leader: Opinion Polls and the Modern Presidents,” author of “State Government and Economic Performance” and co-editor of “The Presidency in American Politics” and “American State and Local Politics.” He has published research in the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Political Research Quarterly, Polity, Social Science Quarterly, American Politics Quarterly, Legislative Studies Quarterly and other journals.

Rice University has a VideoLink ReadyCam TV interview studio capable of transmitting broadcast-quality standard-definition and high-definition video directly to all news media organizations around the world 24/7. To schedule an interview with Brace, contact Amy Hodges, senior media relations representative at Rice, at david@rice.edu, 713-348-6327.

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Related materials:

Paul Brace bio: www.ruf.rice.edu/%7Epbrace

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