Ronna Romney emerged from a bitter primary race only to enter an even rougher one against incumbent U.S. Sen. Carl Levin.
Romney, whose campaign has focused intently on crusading against current government institutions, has spent much of her time and energy at fund-raisers to keep pace with the heartily-financed Levin (D-Mich.).
"That's what happens when someone is a long-term incumbent," Romney said. "It makes it so hard for a challenger to take on an incumbent."
"Her major problem is that Carl Levin has so much money," said John Truscott, spokesperson for Michigan Gov. John Engler.
Campaign '96 is not the first time Romney, who has been calculated at 15-20 points behind in the polls, has been a candidate for U.S. Senate and campaigned for term limits and campaign finance reform. Romney lost the GOP Senate nomination in 1992 to Spencer Abraham, who beat out Democrat Bob Carr for the seat vacated by Sen. Donald Riegle.
The Levin campaign has tried to paint Romney as a conservative darling of pro-lifers and a loyal soldier of Republican Speaker Newt Gingrich. While Romney's conservative stances on abortion, gay rights and federal government power fall in line with the Gingrich/Dole agenda and their Contract with America, she reminds voters - and her opponent - that the name "Gingrich" won't be on Michigan ballots.
"I am my own woman," Romney said. "I've managed to make Democrats and Republicans mad at me on various issues at various times."
Gingrich isn't always right, Romney asserted. She cited his "tantrum on Air Force One" and "when he was going to sign that book deal" as instances when she felt the speaker's actions were wrong.
Romney's staunch pro-life support has pushed the issue of a federal ban on partial-birth abortions to center stage this season.
"Partial-birth abortion ... seems to have become a defining issue of this campaign," she said.
While Romney contends the pro-life movement crosses party lines, some blame the support that Romney has gathered from GOP pro-life and religious right groups for her lack of appeal to mainstream voters.
"Usually it is the conservative candidate that gets hurt when they win (the primary)," Traugott said.
Romney lists abortion, along with taxes and special interests as the top three defining issues of the race. Romney chastised Levin for supporting a 1993 tax increase.
"Clearly he broke his word on that," she said.
Romney's economic proposal includes the same promise for a balanced budget, 15-percent tax cut and $500-per-child tax credit as does the Dole/Kemp plan, but Romney contends that special provisions in her plan will allow "enormous opportunities overseas in terms of encouraging trade."
Block grants and a shrinking federal government are part of the recipe for a trimmer federal government and a "more exciting" future, Romney said. Romney's platform claims reducing governmental waste, fraud and the budget are more likely under a plan to put programs under state control.
"(Currently) they can't find where the abuse is," she said. "By the time it trickles back to the states, almost two-thirds has been eaten up by the bureaucracy."
"What (voters) can expect from me is an absolute push on my part to bring us back into sound fiscal management."
The radio talk-show host and mother of five has taken a more pro-active stance on education than the official GOP party line this year. Romney has expressed a determination to keep higher education affordable by putting demands on tuition policies at colleges and universities and keeping student loans and Pell grants available.
"We need to say to colleges and universities, 'If you want federal money, then you have to make sure that your tuition does not rise above the rate of inflation,'" Romney said.
While Romney claims races like hers are really decided in the last few weeks of the campaign, experts say she has little or no chance of ousting a popular and powerful incumbent.
"There's not much chance that Carl Levin's going to be beat," communication studies Prof. John Kingdon said.