During every presidential primary campaign, there is one date circled by every candidate. On Super Tuesday, voters in 10 states said who they think is the best Republican candidate to run in the general election.

Mitt Romney has seemed like the de facto favorite the whole campaign. But he’s still in a dogfight much later in the campaign than was generally expected. The reason is because of his problems with relatability. He is simply out of touch with the electorate, and it is painfully obvious. His attempts to relate to his audiences simply drive him farther away, to the point that many voters seem to be willing to pick less-savory opponents than vote for Romney.

A couple recent quotes come to mind. Speaking to an audience in Detroit, the city with the largest poverty rate in the United States and located in the state with the ninth highest unemployment rate, Romney said: “I drive a Mustang and a Chevy pickup truck. Ann drives a couple of Cadillacs, actually.”

While he was trying to relate that he drives American-made automobiles, particularly in America’s automobile manufacturing capital, that was simply poor form. To speak in a city and state with heavy economic woes and drop that your wife drives a couple of Cadillacs — which each cost more than $35,000 new — places Romney way above his audience. It’s one thing for us to know he is rich. It’s another to be reminded of that via his comments.

He also attempted to seem like an Average Joe by showing an interest in NASCAR. He was asked how closely he followed the sport, and he replied, “Not as closely as some of the most ardent fans. But I have some great friends that are NASCAR team owners.”

NASCAR team owners are extremely wealthy. The top five most valuable teams all are worth more than $100 million. They have to be to pay for the expensive cars and drivers that race on the weekends. NASCAR fans are often fans of one owner’s team, such as Hendrick Motorsports or Joe Gibbs Racing, but ultimately they’re cheering for the drivers, not the owners.

By stating that he’s friends with the owners, Romney again placed himself on a platform far above that of the average NASCAR fan. While other candidates are attempting to portray opponents as being elitist, Romney is doing it to himself. In light of that, it’s no surprise that he’s having trouble sealing this election. If he does survive the primaries, it is a problem he’ll certainly have to correct if he has any chance of beating Barack Obama this November.