Biden visits Michigan county emerging as the swing state's top bellwether
Source: AP
Updated 4:48 PM EDT, March 14, 2024
SAGINAW, Mich. (AP) — Hurley Coleman Jr.'s parents were drawn to Michigan from the South by the promise of middle-class jobs in the booming automotive industry, an origin story shared by many African American families in Saginaw. Mass layoffs beginning in the late 20th century precipitated a dramatic decline in Saginaw’s population and economy, accompanied by a sharp rise in political turmoil within the city and throughout the region around it.
This unrest peaked in 2016, mirroring the trend set off by economic stress in many Rust Belt cities, when the area voted Republican for the first time in decades and helped Donald Trump win the state. “There was unrest in so many corners, in so many ways and it just happened that you had a candidate who was irascible enough to be able to tap into that unrest,” said Coleman. “There are a lot of people who still have that unrest, but they’re paying attention now.”
Turning Saginaw County blue again in 2020 — by a margin of 303 votes — contributed to Joe Biden’s success in securing the critical “blue wall” states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, all pivotal in Trump’s previous victory as well. Leaders in both parties have said that it will be next to impossible for either presidential candidate to win the White House this year without winning Michigan. Biden, who traveled to Saginaw on Thursday to meet with supporters and volunteers, understands its importance. “Our democracy’s at stake” Biden told the group that packed the front porch of a Saginaw city council member’s home to meet with him. “I really mean it.”
Later, Biden sat down with a Michigan family at a local public golf course. With the campaign season heating up, the president has made intimate conversations with families and small groups to discuss policy matters most impacting their lives a set part of his travels around the country. The visit was part of a two-day swing through Wisconsin and Michigan that started Wednesday as the president looks to create momentum for his reelection campaign after clinching the Democratic nomination on Tuesday night.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/biden-michigan-bellwether-trump-fc3e077e7faac7d6fe785527303cef3e
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