Biden, Trump Both Campaigning In Michigan This Week

Tuesday is eight weeks out from Election Day and, after six months of tamped down campaigning due to COVID-19, it looks like Michigan is going to be hosting a sprint to the finish.

The Great Lakes region is going to be a deciding factor in the presidential election. States like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan swung it for President Donald Trump in 2016 and already the campaigns are showing the importance of winning those states.

The past two weeks we’ve seen both former Vice President Joe Biden and President Trump in Pennsylvania and Monday both Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris were in Wisconsin. Later this week, both Biden and Trump will be in the state of Michigan.

“These are going to be states that both candidates are going to spend a lot of time in,” says David Takitaki, political science professor at Ferris State University. “They’re going to put a lot of resources into them.”

Biden visits on Wednesday and Trump on Thursday—both major candidates blitzing Michigan as we hit the final stretch in the election.

“It energizes voters in a way that even a media bombardment does not,” Takitaki says.

Due to COVID-19, campaigns traded mega-rallies for smaller, more strategic stops.

“You don’t even have to bring them out in terms of millions,” Takitaki says. “You just have to turn out the right 50,000 here or there and you can swing the entire election.”

Virtual interviews and remote appearances have been the norm over the last six months, but there is still value in face-to-face campaigning.

“Vice President Biden needs to show everybody that his age and his energy level are solid if he’s going to be convincing people to vote for him going forward,” Takitaki says. “But President Trump needs to do the exact same thing. Both men are in their 70s.”

President Trump turned Michigan red in 2016. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer turned it back to blue in 2018.

Despite what candidates do in the state, how she handles COVID-19 related trouble in the next two months may also influence voters.

“Gov. Whitmer will have to react,” Takitaki says. “Her behavior in the state of Michigan, whether it is positive or negative, will have some carryover effect to Vice President Biden.”