Mich. decides whether it stays blue or turns red

By ED WHITE, Associated Press Writer

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By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Nov 4, 2008 at 12:19 PM EST

Story Updated: Nov 4, 2008 at 7:07 PM EST

DETROIT (AP) — With history at the top of the ballot, voters swarmed polling places Tuesday as Barack Obama sought to put Michigan in the Democratic column for the fifth time since 1992 in a presidential contest that cooled off weeks ago when John McCain retreated from the state.

From Marquette to Monroe, the weather was no excuse to skip an election that determined Michigan's 17 electoral votes. Temperatures even hit the high 60s in the Upper Peninsula.

A former hairdresser, Dennis Moffitt of Eaton County, voted for Obama, the first black presidential nominee of a major party. He said Michigan's economy is "absolutely terrible."

"In three months, I lost 60, 70 clients, whole families moving out of state for their new jobs," said Moffitt, 47, who considers himself a Democrat.

"I haven't worked in over a year. ... We're losing jobs right and left in this state," he said.

While recent elections have been close, a Republican presidential candidate hasn't won Michigan since George H.W. Bush in 1988. The latest polls showed Obama consistently ahead by double digits.

His campaign opened more than 60 offices in Michigan and enlisted the help of labor unions, state party activists and college students to register new voters and promote his candidacy.

Obama steadily climbed in polls by fall, appealing to workers who have lost jobs or homes — or both — in a state with a jobless rate more than 2.5 percentage points above the national rate.

He promised to replace lost auto jobs with new ones in alternative energy and struck a more conciliatory tone with the industry after saying earlier in the campaign that he would insist on higher government fuel standards.

In Ottawa County's Spring Lake Township, Laura Zenker, 42, voted for McCain but not with much enthusiasm.

"I'm not real happy with either choice," said Zenker, who has a home-based business. "I just think we're safer with McCain in there, and I hope he gets in."

McCain's last campaign stop in Michigan was Sept. 23 in Saginaw County to talk about solar energy. High-ranking Republicans were stunned when the Arizona Republican abruptly pulled out on Oct. 2 and reassigned staff and money to other states.

McCain had hoped to build on his folksy, straight-talking style that connected well with independents and Democrats and helped him win the state's 2000 Republican primary. He came in second to Michigan native Mitt Romney in this year's primary before rallying to win the GOP nomination.

Doug Koopman, a political science professor at Calvin College and former Republican congressional aide, said McCain may have fought longer in Michigan if he had more help from the state party.

Michigan Republicans "don't have a cohesive top-down party organization," he said.

Detroit's large black population was excited about Obama early on. But the Illinois senator avoided appearing with disgraced Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who pleaded guilty in a sex scandal, left office in September and went to jail last week.

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