It was the second day of bad news for Perry, who lost to businessman Herman Cain in a Florida straw poll Saturday before heading to the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference in Michigan.
Perry's second-place finish in Florida came just days after he faltered in a debate in Orlando, Fla. Romney came in third there, although he isn't officially competing in straw polls.
More than 1,600 elected officials and party regulars attended Michigan's three-day conference, and state Republican Chairman Bobby Schostak said it's no surprise that the former Massachusetts governor did so well in Sunday's poll.
His father, George Romney, headed American Motors before becoming Michigan governor in the 1960s. And many people in the conference audience that Mitt Romney addressed Saturday night said they liked his similar mix of experience in the public and private sectors.
"His roots are here, they're strong, and he's the one to beat," Schostak said.
He thinks most of the presidential candidates will compete in Michigan, despite Romney's front-runner status. Candidates can win a share of delegates even if they don't win the primary.
Perry assured the party chairman Saturday that he'll spend lots of time in the state, among several that will hold Feb. 28 presidential contests right after the traditional early states - Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada - hold theirs.
"I think you'll see four or five candidates campaigning here," Schostak told reporters. "They'll be here often."
Michigan Republicans are holding a Nov. 9 presidential debate, but haven't announced who will be participating.
In the straw poll, Romney won 50.1 percent of the 681 votes cast compared to 16.8 percent for Perry. Both men gave separate speeches Saturday to the activists gathered for their biennial conference, with Perry winning some supporters but Romney clearly the overwhelming favorite. Michigan gave Romney his only primary win in the 2008 presidential contest before he pulled out of the race once it became clear Arizona Sen. John McCain would win the nomination.
Former Godfather’s Pizza chief executive Herman Cain, who won the Florida straw poll Saturday, finished third in Michigan with 9 percent, according to the results announced Sunday morning. He was followed by Rep. Ron Paul(R-Tex.) with 8 percent; Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), 4 percent; former House speaker Newt Gingrich, 4 percent; former senator Rick Santorum, 3 percent and former Utah governor Jon Huntsman Jr., 2 percent.
The straw poll, organized and sponsored by National Journal Hotline and the National Association of Home Builders, surveyed the party leaders, donors and activists who attended this weekend’s conference.
The poll also surveyed voters’ favorites to be the GOP vice presidential nominee. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) easily won, with 23 percent of the 481 votes cast in that category. Cain finished second with 14 percent, followed by Gingrich with 13 percent and Bachmann with 12 percent.
The straw poll is hardly a scientific study of voter attitudes here in Michigan, which is likely to hold one of the earlier primaries next year. But it is an indicator of the feelings among the party establishment. The voter pool here seemed more pragmatic than hard-line conservative, as half of those surveyed said they would be willing to support a candidate who would get the economy moving, even if he or she veered from Republican orthodoxy by supporting abortion rights and same-sex marriage.
Nearly 80 percent said the tea party would help Republicans in the 2012 elections, while nearly 20 percent of voters held a negative view of the tea party and 17 percent said they believed the tea party movement could alienate independent voters.
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