Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney narrowly beat Rick Santorum to win Michigan’s Republican Party primary election Tuesday night.

According to CNN’s statistics with 95 percent of the votes counted, Romney tallied 41 percent of the popular vote. Closely behind him was former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, with 38 percent of the vote. Santorum trailed Romney by just more than 30,000 votes.

Romney spoke after his projected win from Novi, on the state’s east side, to loud applause and yells from supporters. Romney also thanked Arizona’s governor and Senator John McCain for their support, as he won both Arizona and Michigan in the same night.

Santorum was in Grand Rapids, where he thanked his Michigan supporters.

Trailing behind were Ron Paul, with 12 percent of the vote, and Newt Gingrich, with 7 percent.

CNN’s exit polls revealed that only 10 percent of Michigan voters are between the ages of 18 and 29. The most-represented age group was 45 to 64, with 49 percent of Michigan voters. The voting was split between genders as well, with 52 percent male voters and 48 percent female voters.

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