Buss: Michigan has been in play all along
That the presidential race has tightened in Michigan going into today’s balloting should surprise no one. It’s reflective of the nationwide tension this election has created.
Assumptions that the race here was decided long ago were always wrong. There were plenty of signs indicating Hillary Clinton would face a more uphill battle in Michigan than expected, and that Donald Trump’s message would resonate in a state that has faced an onslaught of economic woes.
Michigan has always been in play because it’s ground zero for so many of the election narratives.
Aside from personalities, this election has been about distrust of public officials and government agencies, a dismembering of free trade deals and our manufacturing industry, and a health care system and other economic woes that have pushed the middle class to the edge.
These are Michigan’s burdens as much as they are anyone’s. From Flint’s water poisoned with lead by the failures of multiple government agencies and politicians to the state’s struggling middle class to dwindling manufacturing jobs that lie at the core of the dissatisfaction with NAFTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Michigan is the expression of America’s pain and discontent.
The economic lessons voters here have learned are real, and they are fresh. This election, the Heartland’s problems are the entire nation’s problems.
Political pundits in Washington and New York have seemed perplexed over the past several days at Michigan’s seemingly new relevance. But the race leading up to the primaries revealed these dynamics, as did the results of that election.
Clinton in this campaign was never as popular in Michigan as her husband had always been. She failed to win the March primary here, losing a tight race to Bernie Sanders. Sanders’ genuine anti-trade sentiments won over some Democrats who normally would have lined up behind the establishment candidate — in February the UAW was still toying with an endorsement of Sanders because so many of its members supported him.
Bernie-crazy millennials never fully warmed to Clinton, even though their man endorsed her. That’s why Clinton asked President Obama to get out the vote for her in Ann Arbor the day before the election.
Michigan’s Reagan Democrats may be aging, but they are joined this year by newly minted Trump Republicans who are worried about their blue collar jobs and the rising cost of health care.
Trump spoke to those issues, making equalizing trade and keeping the output of American manufacturers such as Ford Motor Co. in the U.S. a central part of his campaign.
These core concerns of the American people kept Trump competitive in Michigan, and in similar states. And it’s why Clinton had to work so hard here leading up to today’s balloting.
In an election where the people are demanding to be heard, Michigan shouted loud enough to get attention. That means its 16 electoral votes will matter in a big way tonight — and that’s good for us, regardless of who wins.
kbuss@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @KaitlynBuss