As expected, Mitt Romney will be allowed to stay in the MA governor's race. In a misguided bit of political maneuvering, MA dems tried to force Romney off the ballot invoking a never-used residency requirement. The gambit failed, as the state's election board unanimously ruled for Romney.

The Dems effort took the spotlight away from Romney's own lies about the matter and transformed him into a victim of dirty campaign tactics. Even the state's all-Democratic congressional delegation attacked their state party's efforts as misguided.

Despite the inept mishandling of the matter, Romney has taken a major hit. A a June 6 poll, taken right after the controversy first arose, showed him trailing Democratic front-runner Shannon O'Brien by 9 points.