Mich. Republicans stunned at McCain pullout

By KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN, AP Political Writer

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Mich. Republicans stunned at McCain pullout

In this May 6, 2008 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., second from right, signs autographs after campaigning at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. All of a sudden, North Carolina matters. It hasn't for decades in presidential elections. Then Democrat Barack Obama made an aggressive play for this traditionally GOP state and polls showed the race tightening. That forced Republican John McCain to defend his turf or risk ceding the southern state _ and its 15 electoral votes _ to Democrats for the first time in 32 years. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Oct 2, 2008 at 4:44 PM EST

Story Updated: Oct 3, 2008 at 9:53 AM EST

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Republicans were surprised Thursday by GOP presidential candidate John McCain's decision to stop competing for the state's 17 electoral votes.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, hoped it wasn't true. He said Republicans would still work to get out the party's message.

"John McCain is our candidate. We want him in Michigan. We want him to hear our issues. We want him to be here because we think he helps us across the board," Bishop said.

But Greg Strimple, senior adviser to the McCain-Palin campaign, said it no longer made sense to compete in Michigan.

"It's been the worst state of all the states that are in play," he said Thursday during a conference call with reporters. "It's an obvious one to come off the list."

State GOP Chairman Saul Anuzis said it's possible — even likely — that McCain could revive his Michigan campaign at some point.

"The winds that drive presidential campaign decisions can shift and shift suddenly," Anuzis said in a statement. "When polls tighten, advertising can quickly be added and people moved back to Michigan."

Strimple acknowledged that's possible.

"If we see a swing back in our favor, we'll obviously re-engage," he said.

McCain is pulling staff and advertising out of Michigan, and has canceled a visit planned for next week to the state. He was last in Michigan on Sept. 23, when he visited a solar research center near Bay City but concentrated his remarks on his support for a $700 billion financial rescue plan.

McCain had been popular in the state, pulling in votes from Democrats and independents to defeat George W. Bush in Michigan's 2000 GOP primary. But Obama had been steadily pulling away in recent polls.

Two of the state's Republican congressional members said only McCain's excellence as a candidate had made it a tight race in this traditionally Democratic state. Michigan hasn't voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1988, when it backed then-Vice President George H.W. Bush.

"The truth is, Michigan never should have been in play to begin with," said U.S. Rep. Candice Miller of Macomb County's Harrison Township. "We may come back into play."

U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter of Livonia noted that McCain could win the White House even without Michigan, as George W. Bush has done in the past two elections.

"Michigan, we always understood, was on his list of states he wanted. No one was under the illusion that it was one of the states he must win," McCotter said.

By pulling out of Michigan, McCain can spend his resources in Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida and other more competitive states. The move will allow Obama to shift money to other states such as Virginia, Colorado and North Carolina where he is trying to eat into traditional Republican territory.

Linda Jolicoeur, a leader of a Michigan small business owner coalition that has endorsed McCain, said the presidential race could remain competitive regardless of what the candidates are doing in the state.

Michigan has had the nation's highest annual average unemployment rate since 2006. While labor groups and others who blame President Bush for the state's economic woes have supported Obama, she said many in the business community — wary of possible corporate tax increases — will continue to back McCain.

"I think no matter what they do, it will remain close here," said Jolicoeur, founder of a Farmington Hills equipment leasing company.

___

Associated Press reporters Tim Martin and David Eggert in Lansing and Ken Thomas in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.

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