Many voters crossing over to vote for GOP candidates

More than the typical number of Michigan
voters are expected to flock to the polls Tuesday for the Republican
presidential primary, held almost a month earlier than usual.
Elizabeth Boyd, Secretary of State communications
director, said Michigan’s Chief Elections Officer and Secretary of State
Candice Miller projects more voters tomorrow than in the March 1996
Republican presidential primary.
This year’s top remaining Republican candidates for
president include Texas Gov. George W. Bush, U.S. Sen. John McCain from
Arizona and former U.S. Ambassador Alan Keyes.
“Sec. Miller has indicated two reasons why there
will be an increase in voters for this year’s primary. One is because
the very competitive race between Sen. John McCain and Gov. George Bush
is generating a tremendous amount of interest in the state and in the
nation,” Boyd said.
“And two, the primary will also be held much earlier
than it was 4 years ago. So Michigan stands to play a major role in
the selection of the presidential nominee.”
Michigan moved up its primary date so Michigan voters
actually have a chance to influence the nomination process. According
to the Secretary of State’s Office, 950,000 registered voters are expected
to vote Tuesday, representing 14 percent of Michigan’s 6.7 million registered
voters. Four years ago, 745,808 registered voters cast ballots, which
represented 11.8 percent of registered voters.
Boyd said the Michigan primary has taken place as
late as May 20, in 1980.
The voter registration deadline for Tuesday’s primary
was Jan. 24. The election is open to voters from all parties, not just
Republicans.
Political science Professor Martha Logsdon said she
thinks people are a little surprised that the Michigan primary may have
an impact on who the Republican candidate will be for president.
“Normally the Michigan primary is so late, the candidate
is usually decided by the time it gets to Michigan,” Logsdon said Friday.
“This year, though, with Sen. McCain winning New Hampshire, he may have
a good chance of winning here.”
McCain finished first in the early February New Hampshire
primary, but lost to Bush in the South Carolina primary Saturday. With
74 percent of the South Carolina precincts reporting, Bush led McCain
54 percent to 41 percent. Keyes gathered the remaining 5 percent.
Logsdon said the top two Republican contenders for
presidential nomination, Bush and McCain, are already presenting themselves
to Michigan voters via television commercials. But while issues like
education and social security have been discussed by both parties, the
candidates focus more on personal characteristics, she said.
“Sen. McCain has certainly presented himself as a
war hero, a man who speaks his mind,” she said. “Gov. Bush presents
himself as a man of significant accomplishments, and, oddly enough,
as an outsider and McCain as an insider.
“But we haven’t had real in-depth discussions. There
have been discussions of the issues, but I’m not sure that’s the basic
thrust of the campaigns.”
At 7:30 a.m. today Bush will speak at the Cobo Center
in Detroit, and at noon he will be at the Kellogg Center at Michigan
State University.
McCain will speak at 8 a.m. today at the Park Place
Hotel in Traverse City. At 1 p.m., he is scheduled to speak at Heritage
High School in Saginaw, and at 5:30 p.m. he will appear at the Willow
Run Jet Center in Ypsilanti.
While in Michigan, Bush will talk about having a
bigger tax-cut proposal than McCain, Logsdon said. McCain will talk
about how his tax-cut proposal targets middle- and lower-income people,
and that Bush’s helps higher-income people, she said.
Michigan Gov. John Engler’s strong support for Bush
doesn’t mean Bush has a lock on the state, Logsdon said.
“I think, especially if Sen. McCain has a good showing
in South Carolina – not necessarily even winning, but coming close -
he will draw substantial support from Democrats and independent voters
in the primary.”
In addition, the Michigan Republican Party recently
divided after its chair resigned following a conflict with Engler, Logsdon
said.
“The split in the party certainly comes at a bad
time for the Republicans,” she said.
Democratic U.S. President Bill Clinton has served
two terms and is unable to run for reelection. While some voters may
call for a party change in the presidency, others say Clinton has helped
the American economy.
“There are at least as many people who are saying
Clinton has brought us an economy that has put people to work. We seem
to be in a state of prosperity and a lot of people are afraid to change
horses in economically good times,” Logsdon said.
“Some people may be sick of Clinton personally, but
not in the policies that have paid off in many areas. So if Republicans
talk about any significant changes in the economic situation it may
scare people.”
Political science Associate Professor Tom Stewart
said Engler’s backing of Bush doesn’t guarantee Bush the state.
“Absolutely not,” Stewart said Friday. “I think John
McCain showed what he can do in New Hampshire and will do very good
in South Carolina. McCain’s campaign shows the strong grass-roots support
out there for him.”
Stewart said he expects more independents and some
Democrats to cross over and vote for McCain Tuesday. He said independents
outnumbered Democrats and Republicans in the New Hampshire primary for
the first time ever.
“Personality issues have become more important in
the Clinton years and McCain will probably reap the benefits of that,”
Stewart said. “If you look at what McCain has decided to do with his
campaign – it’s not based on issues but on things like his military
service, his wealth of knowledge in government and his personality.”
With a strong U.S. economy and no clear national
crisis, personalities reign in this year’s presidential race, he said.
Ads for McCain “have been focusing on the image of
John McCain as a prisoner of war, and they talk about his experience
and understanding of government,” Stewart said. “The Bush ads that I’ve
seen attacked McCain on taxes, and that he’s been in Washington too
long.
“My guess is McCain will win the primary on Tuesday.”
Stewart also said he doesn’t think voters are necessarily
tired of a Democrat in the White House, even after an 8-year Republican
hiatus.
“We’re under the longest economic expansion we’ve
ever seen and voters will generally vote with their pocket book,” he
said.
“Even with Clinton’s personal scandals, there have
not been real good issues Republicans have been able to come up with.
The electorate could continue with the Democrats for that reason.”
Michigan’s Democratic presidential caucus is scheduled
for March 11, and the voter registration deadline is on the same day.

• Local locations open for Rep. primary voters

By Anthony Judnich
LIFE Staff Writer

The poll locations for Mount Pleasant
registered voters in Tuesday’s Republican presidential primary election
are:
1st Precinct – Ganiard Elementary School, 101 S.
Adams St.
2nd Precinct – Mount Pleasant City Hall, 401 N. Main
St.
3rd Precinct – Pullen Elementary School, 251 S. Brown
St.
4th Precinct – Mount Pleasant High School, 1155 S.
Elizabeth St.
5th Precinct – Kinney Elementary School, 720 N. Kinney
St.
6th Precinct – Vowles Elementary School, 1560 Watson
St.
7th Precinct – Fancher Elementary School, 801 S.
Kinney St.
All poll locations are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Registered voters living outside Mount Pleasant’s
city limits should vote at their respective township clerk’s office.