Except he didn’t:

The Michigan Republican Party mistakenly sent out a news release Tuesday night congratulating John McCain for winning the state’s GOP primary.

It quickly issued a second statement praising Mitt Romney for his win.

“Heading into tonight, this race was too close to call, so we prepared a release for either scenario,” state GOP spokesman Bill Nowling said. “We simply pushed the wrong button.”

The Associated Press named Romney the GOP winner when polls closed in Michigan’s western Upper Peninsula at 9 p.m. EST.

The first GOP release went out just minutes later and stated, “In a close-fought victory, Senator John McCain succeeded again (in) the Michigan Republican primary, winning over a traditionally unpredictable voter base in Michigan.”

Five minutes after that, the party sent a release that said, “In a close-fought victory, native son Governor Mitt Romney won an important contest here tonight.”