On the outside, it looked like a very good night for Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney.

On the inside, the reality of both candidates’ primary wins in Michigan yesterday is a bit more complex. Senator Clinton won with 55% - a healthy majority in the delicate game of politics, to be sure, and yet a result considerably diminished by the fact that the Democratic senator from New York was the only front-runner on the ballot. 40% of Michigan voters chose “Uncommitted” in a contest many critics have characterized as an effective referendum on the controversial Clinton’s popularity. Further undermining the legitimacy of Clinton’s win, however, was the additional revelation that of the 40% opting for “Uncommitted,” roughly 70% were African-American, a potentially devastating revelation that Clinton has effectively lost the recent racially-charged rhetorical fight against Senator Barack Obama. As the Democrats head south in their pursuit of the nomination, the African-American vote is likely to only grow more influential.

For Romney, son of former Michigan Governor George Romney, the 9-point victory avoided the incredibly embarrassing possibility of losing his “home” state, and yet the distance separating the former Massachusetts governor from leading rival John McCain was less than reassuring. The Michigan primaries being open contests, a voter is not required to be a member of any particular party to vote in either of the polls. Thus, reports indicate that so-called sabotage voting - wherein disgruntled voters cast their votes for the opposing candidate they feel most likely to shake things up…or least likely to succeed in a national election - played a significant part in last night’s contest. Many Democratic voters, frustrated by their party’s incomplete ballot, indicated before the voting that they would vote in the Republican primary, effectively undermining the legitimacy of Romney’s win.

Undermining both candidates was a relatively low turnout, with approximately 20% of Michigan’s more than 7 million eligible voters participating. Snowy weather and discontent over the Democratic ballot were cited as possible factors in the low turnout. Both Iowa and New Hampshire witnessed record turnout in the highly anticipated first contests of the race for the presidential nomination.