Will Romney win Massachusetts?

[debgeisler]

That's the question posed by the Boston Globe online today:

As he tries to regain his footing after a tough loss in Florida's presidential primary, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney faces an unusual problem for a presidential hopeful: making sure he carries his home state.

[...]

A loss in Massachusetts - delivered by GOP voters who know him best - could be acutely embarrassing, although it would certainly not be decisively negative if he can bounce back elsewhere and outperform McCain in other states.

Romney enjoys the endorsement of former Massachusetts governor William F. Weld, but not of former governor Paul Cellucci, who has supported former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, nor of former acting governor Jane Swift, who backs McCain.

Also, McCain has shown strength in Massachusetts before. He scored a major victory in the state's 2000 presidential primary against George W. Bush, even while Bush appeared to be cruising to the nomination.

I know folks who plan to take a Republican primary ballot next week because they want Romney to lose Masachusetts. (Under other circumstances, I might have done that myself.)