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It’s all fair in love and politics, as Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum and his campaign are asking the Democrats – of all people – to help him defeat former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney ahead of Tuesday’s primary.

Santorum and his campaign are using automated telephone calls to encourage Michigan Democrats to vote against the former the Massachusetts governor. He has called on a coalition of tea party activists, social conservatives and Democrats to try to defeat Mitt Romney in Michigan’s GOP primary.

The thing is, only declared Republicans may vote in Tuesday’s GOP primary, but party rules allow voters to change their affiliation temporarily on the spot.

Santorum’s “robocall” says Democrats should send “a loud message” to Romney by voting for Santorum.

According to the Associated Press, Santorum will spend much of Tuesday near Grand Rapids. Recent polls suggest the Michigan contest is essentially a tossup, despite Romney’s strong ties to the state. He was born and raised in Michigan, where his father served as governor.

As for Santorum’s plea to garner Democratic votes, Romney has denounced the automated phone calls tactic, calling the strategy “outrageous and disgusting.”

Romney said in an interview on “Fox and Friends”: 

“We don’t want Democrats deciding who our nominee is going to be,” Romney called it a “terrible dirty trick” and “a new low for his campaign.”

No matter the winner, the two men stand to split the 30 delegates at stake because Michigan distributes delegates proportionally.

By contrast, Romney is favored to capture all 29 delegates Tuesday in Arizona’s primary, which features a winner-take-all system.