Election Day is here
After weeks of counting down the days, Michigan's presidential primary has arrived. Polls open this morning at 7 a.m. and Michigan voters will find eleven Republicans on the GOP presidential ballot and President Obama, uncontested, on the Democratic ballot. Votes for President Obama won't really count in today's primary, as the state Democratic Party will hold a caucus on May 5th.
Campaign finale
Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul were the three major GOP candidates who spent the most time campaigning across the state over the past few days (if you're wondering where Newt Gingrich has been, you can read more about some political theories for his absence here). Here are just a few of the stories that came out of the candidates' campaign stops yesterday:
- Ron Paul speaks out against undeclared wars at campaign stop
- Santorum makes final campaign stops in Michigan
- Romney's last day on the campaign trail in Michigan
And, Michigan Radio's political analyst Jack Lessenberry; Lansing Bureau Chief for the Michigan Public Radio Network Rick Pluta and I have been keeping an eye on the race:
- Michigan gets some lovin' from the Republican presidential candidates
- Huh? A vote for Santorum is actually a vote for Gingrich?
- Should you vote tomorrow?
- Michigan primaries, fascinating and bizarre
Voter turnout
Election officials are, "expecting between 15 percent and 20 percent of the state's registered voters to cast ballots in the presidential primary election. About 21 percent of the state's registered voters participated in Michigan's 2008 presidential primary, when Republicans had a contested race but Hillary Rodham Clinton was the only major Democratic candidate on the ballot," the Associated Press reports.Special primary coverage
Be sure to tune into Michigan Radio for news updates throughout the day, and a one-hour special from 9 to 10 p.m with results from both the Arizona and Michigan presidential primaries. It will include expert analysis from NPR Contributors E.J. Dionne (The Washington Post) and Matthew Continetti (The Weekly Standard), and reporters Ari Shapiro and Don Gonyea at the Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum state campaign headquarters. And, tomorrow morning on Morning Edition we'll have extensive coverage of the results and we'll speak with Michigan Radio's political analyst Jack Lessenberry about what it all means for our state.
