The votes from New Hampshire are still being dissected and Michigan voters won’t cast ballots for another month, but the presidential campaigns are looking beyond South Carolina, Nevada and the 11 Super Tuesday states toward Michigan’s March 8 election.
Democratic presidential contenders Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton opened up their first campaign offices in the state this week.
Sanders, who is one of the only presidential candidates on either the Republican or Democratic side who hasn’t visited Michigan yet, has an office open in Flint and expects to christen four more later this week.
Clinton’s campaign, with help from Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, launched its first campaign office in Detroit on Tuesday and expects to open up offices in Flint and Grand Rapids in the coming weeks.
And following up on her visit to Flint on Sunday, Clinton’s daughter, Chelsea, is scheduled to make campaign stops in southeast Michigan on Thursday and husband and former President Bill Clinton will be in Grand Rapids for a fund-raiser on Friday.
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz opened up four offices in Michigan — in Brighton, Roseville, Sault Ste. Marie and Grand Rapids — last week.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has spent more time in Michigan than any of the other candidates with eight trips to the state, plans to spend two days in Michigan next week with events at Grand Valley State University in Grandville and Utica on Monday and in Livonia on Tuesday.
Michigan is especially important, said Farmington Hills political consultant Paul Welday, because it could provide the momentum the candidates need to hit the states after Michigan where Republican delegates are awarded on a winner-take-all basis, rather than proportionately as is the case for all the states that hold presidential caucuses or primaries before March 15.
“Each one of these campaigns know that the headlines after Michigan’s election are going to influence the big winner-take-all states that follow us,” he said. “We’re really uniquely positioned to open up this race. And Michigan is the first major industrial state on the docket to vote.”
And for Democrats, the tight race between Clinton, the former secretary of state, and Sanders, the Vermont senator, makes every state important.
“It will show that if you can win in Michigan, you can be a very strong general election candidate,” said Brandon Dillon, chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party.
Three other states — Hawaii, Idaho and Mississippi — also have presidential primary elections on March 8, but Hawaii is difficult logistically for candidates to spend much time in and only has 19 Republican and 33 Democratic delegates up for grabs.
Idaho has only 32 Republican delegates and 27 Democratic delegates at stake compared to Michigan’s 59 for Republicans and 148 for Democrats.
Mississippi has 40 Republican and 41 Democratic delegates up for grabs. Hawaii and Idaho only have Republicans up for election on March 8 while Mississippi and Michigan have both Republicans and Democrats on the ballot.
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