 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|||||
 |
||||||
MICHIGAN'S DIVIDED ELECTORATE:
THE VOTE IN THE MAJOR COUNTIES
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
||||||
MICHIGAN'S DIVIDED ELECTORATE:
THE VOTE IN THE MAJOR COUNTIES
John McCain won Michigan’s Republican presidential primary Feb. 22 in much the same way that Bill Clinton carried the state in the 1996 presidential election – by sweeping the leading bastions of Democratic and swing voters, which easily offset the vote from Republican strongholds.
Of Michigan’s 10 most populous counties, George W. Bush won the two most Republican ones – Ottawa (Holland) and Kent (Grand Rapids). But McCain won the rest, encompassing Detroit and its suburbs, the major academic communites of Ann Arbor and East Lansing, and the bulk of the mid-sized cities that dot the state.
Turnout for this year’s Michigan GOP primary was more than double the total from four years ago, with dramatic increases in voter participation evident in Republican, Democratic and swing counties. Results from the 2000 primary are based on nearly complete but unofficial returns from the Michigan Department of State.
| Nature of County | Nov. '96 Winner |
|
|
|
|
|||
| 1996 | 2000 |
|
||||||
| STATEWIDE | Clinton | 52% | McCain | 51% | 524,161 | 1,274,149 | Up 143% | |
| Republican-Oriented | ||||||||
| OTTAWA (Holland) | Republican Towns | Dole | 64% | Bush | 55% | 15,839 | 47,498 | Up 200% |
| KENT (Grand Rapids) | Urban-Oriented | Dole | 54% | Bush | 49% | 35,419 | 101,676 | Up 187% |
| Swing Counties | ||||||||
| OAKLAND | Suburban | Clinton | 48% | McCain | 49% | 82,512 | 184,585 | Up 124% |
| MACOMB | Suburban | Clinton | 49% | McCain | 50% | 47,184 | 100,284 | Up 113% |
| KALAMAZOO (Kalamazoo) | Urban-Oriented | Clinton | 49% | McCain | 54% | 11,095 | 34,018 | Up 207% |
| INGHAM (Lansing) | Academic-Oriented, State Capital | Clinton | 54% | McCain | 57% | 14,376 | 37,461 | Up 161% |
| Democratic-Oriented | ||||||||
| SAGINAW (Saginaw) | Urban-Oriented | Clinton | 54% | McCain | 50% | 8,244 | 25,654 | Up 211% |
| WASHTENAW (Ann Arbor) | Academic-Oriented | Clinton | 59% | McCain | 60% | 11,743 | 39,433 | Up 236% |
| GENESEE (Flint) | Urban-Oriented | Clinton | 61% | McCain | 55% | 13,024 | 41,614 | Up 220% |
| WAYNE (Detroit) | Urban-Oriented | Clinton | 69% | McCain | 55% | 98,560 | 184,620 | Up 87% |
Home | Analysis | Biography | Bookstore | Links | Subscribe!
© Rhodes Cook 2001.
Rhodes Cook
rhodescook@aol.com