Mitt Romney confidently delivered his closing appeal in Michigan Tuesday morning as primary voters headed to the polls, predicting his home state would come through and propel him to a victory he sorely needs to break through the still-crowded pack of GOP presidential candidates, following second-place finishes in New Hampshire and Iowa.

Michigan Republican frontrunners Romney and John McCain have been doting on the state ever since the New Hampshire primary a week ago, pledging to provide a boost to Michigan's struggling economy. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee also is trying to wedge himself into the top tier in the state. Both McCain and Huckabee wrapped up their closing pitches to Michigan by early afternoon and headed to South Carolina.

Watch live coverage of the Michigan primary on FOX News starting at 8 p.m.

But for Romney, Michigan is personal. The former Massachusetts governor stresses his roots in the state, his compassion for its residents, his commitment to the auto industry and his family's political history. His late father, George Romney, headed American Motors and served three terms as governor in the 1960s, and he invoked his family tree again Tuesday during his only scheduled public appearance before what the campaign is billing as a "victory party."

"This is the day that’s gonna change, I believe, the politics in the nation, as we get ready to select our nominee. I think Michigan is gonna vote for a Romney again — I’m planning on it," Romney said to a crowd of about 150 people in Grand Rapids.

Click here to see photos from Michigan's primary election.

Romney, who won the overlooked Wyoming caucuses, insists a loss in Michigan will not stall his campaign, and that he'll be continuing through the South Carolina primary and Nevada caucuses, and the Feb. 5 primaries, no matter what the outcome. Demonstrating some humility Monday in Detroit, he said the path to the party's nomination "may be paved with silver."

But he's angling for gold in Michigan, since a silver would undoubtedly wound him, and potentially sentence him to electoral obscurity, with a half-dozen GOP candidates still jockeying for position in a race with no clear frontrunner. While other candidates split their time among other early voting states over the past week, Romney stayed in Michigan.

Surrounded by "Washington is Broken" signs, Romney continued to cast himself as a breath of fresh air to the Washington establishment Tuesday, saying he would "stop the bickering, the sniping, the partisanship, the score settling."

While Romney was seeking a favorite-son boost, McCain was trying to repeat history. He said in Traverse City Tuesday morning he expects the vote to be close.

McCain won the state's primary eight years ago on the strength of independent voters -- Independents and Democrats composed 17 percent of his support in 2000. He has also regained the lead in the national polls that he enjoyed months ago, before his campaign nearly came apart over the summer.

McCain wrapped up his Michigan effort at a stop in Ypsilanti Tuesday afternoon.

The Arizona senator said on FOX News Tuesday morning he's looking for broad support in the state.

"I need Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, vegetarian, Trotskyites," he said, laughing. "I need them all. But, look, we're going to go, as we did in New Hampshire, to our Republican base ... I'm upbeat and optimistic, but I think this is going to be a very close race here in Michigan -- and may be up late tonight.

McCain wore a green sweater, which he said he wore the day he won the GOP primary in New Hampshire.

But the campaign is managing expectations. Senior adviser Steve Schmidt said a loss for McCain would just be a “quarter-step” back for the senator, and wouldn’t have much of an impact on his chances in downstate races like South Carolina. However, Schmidt thinks Michigan is a must-win for Romney.

The Democratic side of the primary has generated less interest because Hillary Clinton is the only top-tier candidate on the ballot and no delegates are at stake.

About 20 percent of eligible voters were expected to turn out. Freezing temperatures prevailed and snow was falling across much of the state Tuesday morning, with snowfall totals by 9 a.m. EST reaching a half a foot in some places, according to the National Weather Service.

The economy has dominated the GOP race in recent days, with Romney and McCain pledging to lead a revival for a state and an auto industry ravaged by recession.

Polls showed McCain and Romney in a close race, with Huckabee running third.

Poll averages from RealClearPolitics.com showed Romney still leading in the state with 29 percent. The averages showed McCain with 26.3 percent and Huckabee with 16.3 percent. Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Texas Rep. Ron Paul were all polling in the single digits.

Huckabee though, scheduled a half-day in Michigan Tuesday before heading to South Carolina, which votes Jan. 19. He played on the same underdog rhetoric that was his charm before winning the leadoff Iowa caucuses Jan. 3.

"We're doing much better than people expected and we wanted to show that we're in play, even in a northern industrial state, especially when you consider John McCain won here eight years ago, Mitt Romney's from here," Huckabee said in Detroit Tuesday morning. "It's not like I can run around and throw my dad's name out."

Of the three at the top, Romney is most in need of a victory as he looks to restore at least some of the luster lost with defeats in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary. Despite his claims that he will stay in the race no matter what, several associates have suggested the former Massachusetts governor may quit unless he prevails.

Giuliani and Thompson, however, have practically ignored the state. Giuliani is pouring time and resources into Florida, while Thompson is doing the same in South Carolina.

Among the Democrats, Barack Obama and John Edwards pulled their names from the ballot after Michigan broke national party rules by moving up its primary date to give the state more say in the selection of a candidate. The national party stripped Michigan of its delegates as a penalty.

Obama and Edwards supporters urged voters to vote for uncommitted, just in case delegates are seated later, as state party leaders expect. Write-in votes won't be counted.

The early primary date is new for Michigan, which typically doesn't hold its presidential primaries until February. On the Republican side, the move cost Michigan half its GOP national convention delegates.

Next up for the Democrats were precinct caucuses Saturday in Nevada, where a debate was scheduled for Tuesday night in Las Vegas.

FOX News' Shushannah Walshe, Malini Bawa and Serafin Gomez and The Associated Press contributed to this report.