Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (R) has won the endorsement of the Detroit News, giving his campaign a boost heading into next week’s primary in the Wolverine State.

Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)Hailing Romney’s “refreshing free market vision for restoring the nation’s prosperity,” the newspaper’s editorial board argues that Romney would “reverse the rush toward a government-controlled economy and allow the free marketplace to do what it has always done — pull the nation back to its feet.”

By contrast, former senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) “are delusional if they think either Santorum or Gingrich can prevail in the fall against Obama.”

The endorsement isn’t entirely rosy, however – particularly when it comes to Romney’s position on the auto industry bailout. The paper’s editorial board writes:

“We disagree with Romney on a point vital to Michigan — his opposition to the bailout of the domestic automobile industry. Romney advocated for a more traditional bankruptcy process, while we believe the bridge loans provided by the federal government in the fall of 2008 were absolutely essential to the survival of General Motors Corp. and Chrysler Corp. The issue isn’t a differentiator in the GOP primary, since the entire field opposed the rescue effort.”

You can read the full editorial here.