Ron Paul

In Illinois, Firefighters Counter Romney With Their Own Ad

Republican presidential candidates are making their final push in Illinois before tomorrow’s primary. They’ve flooded the airwaves with advertisements. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney alone has spent nearly $4 million in the state, according to the Chicago Tribune.

But Illinois firefighters have countered with their own anti-Romney ad, paid for by their union, the International Association of Firefighters.

The ad focuses in part on SAFER, a government program that provided $10.2 million in grants to Illinois communities last year to hire or retrain firefighters. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Communities, Government, Politics, firefighters, IAFF, Illinois, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Republican primary, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul

March 1, 2012 | 12:30 PM | By Dustin Dwyer

What You Told Us About Your Vote In The Michigan Primary

Future voter, by flickr user robertDouglass

The Michigan primary already seems like old news. The vote happened two days ago, and the national media moved on immediately afterward, though the victor in Michigan’s race is still somewhat contestable.

On Tuesday, we asked you to tell us why you voted the way you did in the Michigan primary. We got quite a few responses, including some strong support for Ron Paul, who came in third in the primary.

Here is a sampling of what you told us: Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Communities, Politics, GOP primary, Michigan primary, Primary, Romney, Ron Paul, Santorum

February 28, 2012 | 10:48 AM | By Micki Maynard

4 Things We Learned About Michigan Through The Primary

If you want an honest opinion, ask a stranger, or so the saying goes. During the past couple of weeks, the political press corps has been spread out across Michigan, following Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul around the state, finding all kinds of things out.

Their stories have reflected a state that some Midwesterners might not recognize. So, here’s a list of what we learned through the Michigan primary.

1) We’re in a class war. The Michigan Republican party is divided between wealthy people and working class and middle class Republicans, or so writers told us.

Ron Brownstein of the National Journal found the latter at the Knights of Columbus hall in Lincoln Park.

They’re what he needs if Santorum is going to eventually beat Romney. He ” will likely have to reach more deeply into blue-collar, heavily Catholic, working-class white communities that have became central to the Republican electoral coalition, especially between the coasts,” Brownstein wrote.

Paul West of the Los Angeles Times found the same thing when he went to Troy. “The bitter Republican primary battle in Michigan has turned into an all-out class war,” he wrote. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Politics, Michigan, Mitt Romney, Republican, Ron Paul, Ron Santorum, Upper Peninsula

February 26, 2012 | 10:38 AM | By Micki Maynard

On A Busy Campaign Weekend, Santorum Ventures Up North in Michigan

Republican candidates are wrapping up a busy weekend of campaigning before Michigan’s primary on Tuesday. But Rick Santorum is going where few have ventured — Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Santorum was set to hold a campaign rally at noon ET in Marquette, marking a rare visit by a candidate above the Mackinac Bridge.

The vast majority of candidate visits have been to southeast and western Michigan — not surprising, since that’s where the vast majority of Republican voters are located.

But, the U.P. has a Republican congressman, Dan Benishak. He took the seat vacated by veteran Democrat Bart Stupak in 2010. (You might remember Stupak for backing President Obama’s health care program.) Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Politics, Michigan, Mitt Romney, Republican primary, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Upper Peninsula

February 24, 2012 | 10:42 AM | By Micki Maynard

Down The Stretch They Come In The Michigan Primary

It snowed overnight in Michigan, providing an icy backdrop as Republican presidential candidates kicked off the final weekend of campaigning before Tuesday’s primary.

Things got off to a quick start. United Auto Workers members gathered on a downtown Detroit parking garage rooftop Friday morning, staging a protest in advance of Mitt Romney’s speech to the Economic Club of Detroit.

Our friends at WXYZ-TV are broadcasting Romney’s speech live. The lunch is scheduled to begin at noon ET.

Romney is speaking at Ford Field, normally home to the Detroit Lions, as polls show he’s taken a slight lead over Pennsylvania’s former U.S. senator, Rick Santorum.

The Five Thirty Eight blog says Romney now has a 67 percent chance of beating Santorum on Tuesday. Its calculations show Romney taking 41.1 percent of the vote, with Santorum getting 36.4 percent. The next closest candidate is Ron Paul with 11.9 percent, followed by Newt Gingrich with 9.3 percent. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Government, Politics, Michigan, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Republican primary, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul

February 8, 2012 | 10:31 AM | By Micki Maynard

Here They Come: Candidates Head For Michigan, Economy In The Forefront

And now, it’s Michigan’s turn.

The political spotlight, which many people thought might have been flipped off by now, is about to shine brightly on the state as its Republican presidential primary approaches on Feb. 28.

People in the state can expect to bump into a candidate on a regular basis, whether in television ads, on local news programs, or in person.

The highest-profile appearance thus far is set to be Mitt Romney’s address to the Economic Club of Detroit on Feb. 24. Rick Santorum, who scored three wins on Tuesday, is expected at a fundraising event in Novi next week. There’s no word yet on whether Newt Gingrich or Ron Paul will be be in the state.

No matter the candidate, Michigan’s economy is likely to be front and center, and with it, discussion of the bailout for General Motors and Chrysler. Continue reading →