Economy takes center stage in Michigan GOP primary

MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

TAYLOR, Mich. — Michigan’s Republican presidential primary today is this election year’s first clear referendum on who voters think can best manage — and revive — the slumping economy, which has hit this state harder than most.

Wherever the candidates go, job security and the threat of inflation are the political topics people most want to discuss. Most voters are highly uncertain about who, if anyone, can get this state moving again.

Many also are highly uncertain about whom to support. Two new polls Monday suggested that Arizona Sen. John McCain now holds a narrow lead over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in Michigan, with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee running a strong third in both polls, one for Zogby and the other for the Detroit News. A Jan. 9-11 McClatchy-MSNBC survey by Mason-Dixon, however, found 11 percent of voters undecided and an additional 39 percent who could still change their minds.

Romney stresses his family ties to Michigan, recalling how he uniquely understands the state’s plight, since his father was once the highly regarded president of American Motors, and later, the governor.

“I remember when Michigan was the pride of America, the envy of the world,” Romney says.

He outlined his vision Monday to the Detroit Economic Club and later toured the city’s mammoth auto show. He’s been blasting rival McCain as insensitive to the auto industry, saying his push for higher fuel-efficiency standards would hurt the nation’s auto industry. Romney says McCain’s claim that some jobs are simply lost forever is irresponsible.

McCain, appearing at rallies in the western part of the state Monday, said that government programs aimed at helping workers are outdated. He’d revamp jobless benefits and retraining efforts to prepare people for what he calls the “new jobs of the future.”

Huckabee talks about how he’d revamp the nation’s tax system. He spoke at an auto plant and visited the auto show Monday, but has spent less time here than Romney and McCain have. He’s also emphasized his conservative social views, which are especially popular with evangelical Christians here.

Most voters look at who’d be the best leader rather than at specific policies.

Reardon, for instance, likes former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s record of getting things done. Ronald James, a Southfield auto worker, went for McCain in 2000 but probably will back Romney today.