Net Results

The Michigan Republican Party tonight put out a press release that congratulated ex-Massachusetts Gov. (and Michigan native son) Mitt Romney on his win; hailed the very early primary's impact in focusing attention on the auto industry-dependent state's economic woes; and detailing how the state's 60 delegates will be allocated.

Only problem is that 60 number. The bipartisan decision by Michigan policymakers to schedule its primary for Jan. 15 -- in violation of national party rules barring delegate allocation events before Feb. 5 -- spurred the Republican National Committee to strip the state party of half its delegates (the Democratic National Committee was even more draconian, stripping its state affiliate of all its delegates for breaking the Feb. 5 scheduling threshold for most states).

Leaders of both parties in Michigan have contended throughout the dispute that they expect their delegates to be fully restored by the time of the national conventions late this summer -- if only because Michigan is expected to be a "battleground state" in the November general election.

But in the meantime, the Michigan Republicans officially have only 30 delegates to distribute, not 60.