Name: Michigan Voters Head to Polls for Primaries
Uploaded: 2024-02-28T05:31:26.000Z
Description: SOUTHGATE/GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.—Michigan voters are heading to polls for the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries Tuesday.

Sam Wang is a Washington correspondent for NTD News based in Washington, D.C. Sam covers politics on Capitol Hill, and U.S.-China relations. 

Sam Wang

NTD Plus

News

News with integrity, from the U.S. and around the world. Focused reports and analyses that shed light on major issues the world deserves to know. NTD Evening News airs daily at 6 p.m. ET.

NTD Evening News

Citizens Honor Police for Their Service and Sacrifice

Cary Dunst is the news anchor for NTD Evening News. He is also the co-host of NTD Good Morning.


Cary Dunst

Trump ‘Projecting American Influence and Leadership’ on Iran Issue in Beijing: China Expert

Chris Bob is a reporter for NTD and a host of "Profiles of Service." He is also a small business owner. Chris graduated from Union College with a concentration in politics and religion in Russia and the former Soviet Union.

Chris Bob

Senate Panel Advances Crypto Regulation Bill

Jason Blair is a national correspondent for NTD News based in California. 

Jason Blair

Lawmakers Weigh ‘Sanctuary’ Polices After Woman’s Death in Virginia

Christina Corona is a California-based reporter for NTD News. She primarily covers California news, politics, and entertainment.  

Christina Corona

Bonta Announces Major Fentanyl Bust in California

Arian Pasdar is an international correspondent for NTD News based in South America. His reporting focuses on immigration and key events in Latin America.

Arian Pasdar

CENTCOM Commander Admiral Cooper Praises Trump's Military Actions

David Lam is a national correspondent based in California and a part-time anchor for "NTD Tonight." Before joining NTD he was a financial analyst.

David Lam

Lawyers in OpenAI Trial Give Closing Arguments

Eva Fu is a New York-based writer for The Epoch Times focusing on U.S. politics, U.S.-China relations, religious freedom, and human rights. Contact Eva at eva.fu@epochtimes.com

Eva Fu

Jack Bradley is a Washington correspondent for NTD News based in Washington, D.C. Jack previously anchored "NTD Newsroom" and worked as an assistant producer for the show. 

Jack Bradley

China News

Organ Harvesting in China

Congressional Hearing Spotlights Forced Organ Harvesting in China

Dave Martin is NTD's Senior Sports Reporter and sports analyst. He also hosts "Data Hub" segments during NTD's special election coverage, "The Nation Decides."

Dave Martin

Report: Giants WR Nabers Had 2nd Procedure on Knee

Xavier Becerra Leads New California Governor Poll

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 15)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 14)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 13)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 12)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 11)

Don Ma is an anchor and senior business correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Don is the anchor and producer of NTD's "Business Matters," which airs weekdays at 4:30 pm ET.

Don Ma

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 10)

Arleen Richards is NTD's legal correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City, where she covers all major legal stories. Arleen holds a Doctor of Law (J.D.).


Arleen Richards

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 9)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 8)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 7)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 6)

NTD Newsroom comprises teams of reporters, editors, and producers assigned to cover breaking news and other stories.


NTD Newsroom

Fast, compelling, first-hand news from China. China in Focus airs Monday–Friday at 8 p.m. ET.

China in Focus

China Sends Warships to Pacific Drill as Tensions With Japan Rise

Reuters is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages.

Reuters

We present news that is truthful and based on facts, outside of the political fog. Instead of focusing on the negative things happening around us, our mission is to give our viewers a good morning with empathetic and uplifting stories. Our aim is to provide an antidote to negativity by shining a light on the best side of people. We speak to inspiring people who positively impact communities, pursue topics that represent our common human values, and will never miss an opportunity to bring you heartwarming stories.

NTD Good Morning

2 US Embassy Personnel Assigned to Cartel Case Killed in Car Accident

The Associated Press is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. 

The Associated Press

US News

Gunman Kills 8 Children, Including 7 of His Own, in Louisiana Mass Shooting

Flora Hua is a reporter based at NTD's global headquarters in New York City, where she covers China news, U.S.-China relations, and human rights issues. Flora primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus."  

Flora Hua

Trump: Seized Iranian Ship May Have ‘A Gift From China’

Joseph Lord is a congressional reporter for The Epoch Times.


Joseph Lord

Aldgra Fredly is a freelance writer covering U.S. and Asia Pacific news for The Epoch Times.

Aldgra Fredly

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani Hospitalized in Critical Condition: Spokesman

Wildfires Across Georgia and Florida Have Destroyed Nearly 50 Homes and Are Forcing Evacuations

News you can trust from the U.S. and around the world. Critical information and insight. We cover the stories that others don’t. NTD News Today airs Monday–Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

NTD News Today

US Warns of China Hacks via Routers, Smart Devices

Juliet Song is an international correspondent exclusively covering China news for NTD. She primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus," covering U.S.-China relations, the Chinese regime's human rights abuses, and domestic unrest inside China.

Juliet Song

2 Americans Among Suspected Communist Rebels Killed in Clashes With Troops, Philippine Officials Say

Ryan Morgan is a reporter for The Epoch Times focusing on military and foreign affairs. He was previously a news writer for NTD. 


Ryan Morgan

Mari Otsu is NTD's White House correspondent based in Washington. 

Mari Otsu

World News

Middle East

Iran

3 US Warships Fend Off Iranian Attacks, Trump Says Ceasefire Still Holds

Health News

3 Dead in Suspected Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise Ship in Atlantic Ocean: WHO

SOUTHGATE/GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.—Michigan voters are heading to polls for the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries Tuesday.

The primary comes after early voting, which lasted from Feb. 17 until Feb. 25. Early voting is now enshrined in Michigan’s constitution thanks to <a href="https://www.house.mi.gov/hfa/PDF/Alpha/Ballot_Proposal_2_of_2022.pdf">Proposal 2</a>, a ballot measure that passed during the 2022 general election.

Michigan’s presidential primary is an open one per the National Conference of State Legislatures. Voters need not be registered with a specific party to get that party’s ballot.

On Feb. 27, polls <a href="https://www.michigan.gov/sos/resources/news/2024/02/23/early-voting-for-presidential-primary-heads-into-final-weekend">open</a> at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

Even as incumbent President Joe Biden competes in the Democratic presidential primary, more eyes are trained on the Republican presidential contest in the state.

Although that race is more competitive than its Democratic counterpart, it is still expected to end with another big win for former President Donald Trump, after a streak of support put him well ahead of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in delegates, including in her home state Feb. 24 primary. <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-primary-r/2024/michigan/">Polling</a> also shows President Trump with a commanding lead in Michigan.

Sandy Sikorski, an early voter for President Trump who spoke with The Epoch Times in Southgate in Michigan's Wayne County, had a simple message for Ms. Haley.

“Go back home,” she said. Her husband, Douglas, made a goodbye gesture to drive the point home.

The national press has been particularly interested in the dueling Republican caucuses on March 2 that will follow the Republican primary, threatening the perception of Republican unity at a point when the party has begun to consolidate around President Trump as a likely presumptive nominee.

Meanwhile, tension over the Israel-Hamas war has led to a campaign from the left wing of the Democratic Party that could prove a challenge to President Biden.

President Joe Biden speaks to governors from across the country during an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Feb. 23, 2024. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)


<h2>GOP's Dueling Conventions, Democrats' Protest Vote</h2>
More of Michigan’s 55 delegates to the Republican National Convention (RNC) will be awarded through the caucus process than through the primary vote—39 as opposed to just 16.

State Republicans’ use of caucusing is downstream of a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-michigan-39eed7a1134a14a671de16487fec47a9">2023 vote</a> by the state’s Democrat-dominated Legislature that rescheduled the state’s primary in line with Democratic National Committee (DNC) priorities.

That conflicted with the RNC’s calendar, leading to objections from Michigan state legislators at the time, who worried that the scheduling would disempower voters by stripping them of delegates.

“If this becomes law, no Republican candidate for president is going to come to Michigan to campaign,” Republican State Rep. Andy Beeler predicted at the time.

Ms. Haley campaigned in Troy, Michigan, on Feb. 25 and Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Feb. 26. President Trump was in the state for a <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/epochtv/trump-holds-rally-in-waterford-township-michigan-5588155">rally</a> in Waterford Township on Feb. 17.

(Left) Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley in Kiawah Island, S.C., on Feb. 24, 2024. (Right) Former President Donald Trump at the Black Conservative Federation Gala in Columbia, S.C., on Feb. 23, 2024. (Justin Sullivan, Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

President Biden visited Michigan in early February with a view to the general election. The United States’ backing for Israel in its war with Hamas has undermined the president’s relations with Democratic and other leaders of Arab and Muslim communities, key blocs in what could prove to be a crucial battleground state. He <a href="https://michiganadvance.com/2024/02/02/pro-palestinian-protesters-demonstrate-against-biden-during-trip-to-michigan/">faced protests</a> over U.S. support of the war during the trip.

Some ceasefire activists, <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2024/02/26/uncommitted-voters-ballot-michigan-presidential-primary-election-2024-biden/72710259007/">including</a> the relative of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), are campaigning for Democratic voters to vote “uncommitted” over President Biden in the Democratic presidential primary, as a protest against the administration’s Gaza policy.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/whitmer-protest-vote-biden-michigan-politics-desk-rcna140533">predicted</a> that the number of protest votes against President Biden will be “sizable.”

The Republican plan to hold a caucus at their March 2 convention marks a compromise over its calendar. The lack of such a conflict is why Democrats in the state aren’t staging their own caucus. All 139 delegates to the Democratic National Convention will be awarded based on the results of that primary.

But, confusingly, the official state convention in Grand Rapids will be <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/02/20/migop-conventions-hoekstra-grand-rapids-karamo-detroit/72676419007/">competing</a> with a convention in Detroit.

Former Michigan GOP Chairwoman has maintained that she still leads the party even after an RNC vote affirmed that former Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.), the man endorsed by President Trump, is in charge.

She contends that an <a href="https://apnews.com/article/michigan-republican-party-karamo-removal-0f4c85738f2f675f36ebe1df839c5239">earlier Jan. 6 vote</a> that initially stripped her of her title was illegal and not organized under official auspices.

A <a href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2024/02/20/judge-allows-lawsuit-to-oust-kristina-karamo-to-go-forward-pete-hoekstra-trump-michigan-gop-rnc/72669472007/">lawsuit</a> by Kristina Karamo’s opponents to enforce her removal is ongoing.
<h2>Early Voters Share Thoughts</h2>
“This is the first statewide election in Michigan’s history in which voters have had the option to cast a ballot in person at an early voting site,” the Michigan Department of State <a href="https://www.michigan.gov/sos/resources/news/2024/02/23/early-voting-for-presidential-primary-heads-into-final-weekend">website</a> notes.

On the afternoon of Feb. 25, citizens weren’t exactly storming the Southgate Senior Center to take advantage of their last chance for early voting before Feb. 27.

Southgate City Clerk Jan Ferencz told The Epoch Times there had been 178 early voters at the site thus far.

Ms. Ferencz said that while she was at first opposed to the idea of early voting, she is now starting to appreciate it.

“I think it’s going to catch on, I really do,” she said.

The few early voters who showed up included members of the Kessler family, three of whom planned to assist the vote as precinct workers on Feb. 27. Like the other election workers who spoke with The Epoch Times in Southgate, they’ll get what Scott Kessler, the family father, described as “a stipend.”

He and his son Jude, another election worker, told The Epoch Times they voted in the Democratic primary. While Jude declined to share his choice, Scott explained that he chose President Biden.

“I believe he’s a much better candidate than other choices,” he said.

He agreed that some Democratic-leaning Michiganders could end up participating in the Republican primary as spoilers. His son, Jude, defended the openness of Michigan’s presidential primary.

“I just don't think the system should cater to the two parties, because I think we should have a multi-party system or no parties at all, ideally,” he told The Epoch Times.

Entrenched, team-like parties are “bad for democracy,” Scott added.

“I played a political game with my vote just now. I took a Republican ballot and voted for the least likely Republican candidate to try to keep Donald Trump off the ballot,” Jane Kessler, Scott’s wife and another future election worker, told The Epoch Times.

In her view, that was Vivek Ramaswamy, who suspended his campaign after losing in the Iowa Republican caucus and is now campaigning for President Trump.

Mr. and Ms. Sikorski, the early voters for President Trump at Southgate, were more concerned about crossover voting in the primaries.

“It’s concerning for sure,” Mr. Sikorski said.
<h2>Haley Rallies Then Heads to Minnesota</h2>
Ms. Haley’s rallies in Michigan come amid a whirlwind schedule following her South Carolina defeat.

Her plans after that contest encompass <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nikki-haley-donald-trump-election-2024-b1582a35c3617eee49b36288523a1ea6">ten private fundraising events</a> as well as public rallies.

Ms. Haley’s Grand Rapids stop was at the Amway Grand Plaza, the same hotel where the state GOP will hold its official convention March 2. That was followed by a rally in Minnesota. On Feb. 27, the day of Michigan's primary, she is scheduled to speak in Colorado. An event in Utah follows the day after.

One attendee of her Grand Rapids speech, economics instructor Ron Cipcic, was under no illusions about the likely outcome of the upcoming Republican presidential primary.

“The probability is low that Nikki’s going to be elected,” he told The Epoch Times while standing beside his wife, Kim.

“From a conscience stance, we need to vote our conscience, and so, my wife Kim and I did vote,” he said.

Moses Milan was holding a sign for Ms. Haley when he spoke with The Epoch Times. But he isn’t a supporter of Ms. Haley—“not at all.”

“They handed this to me. I didn’t really have a choice,” he told The Epoch Times.

Mr. Milan works on political campaigns for Turning Point USA’s Campus Victory Project.

After clarifying that he was speaking for himself and not on behalf of Turning Point, he said, “Trump is not just running against the Democrats. He's running against the uniparty in Washington, who are backing Nikki Haley.”

“They try to keep real estate in both parties, and Nikki Haley is real estate within the Republican Party. Is she going to win? Not likely. But I sense there's a need to at least keep an avenue open so that it’s not completely up in the air should something happen to Trump,” he said of the challenges President Trump is facing from actors within the DOJ.

<em>The Associated Press contributed to this report.</em>

<em>From <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/what-to-know-ahead-of-michigans-presidential-primaries-5595628">The Epoch Times</a></em>

Latest

DONALD TRUMP

Videos

ceasefire

Michigan

Politics

01_Lead Story

04_Top Stories

joe biden

gaza

Nikki Haley

Latest Clips

primary

Management

Nathan Worcester covers national politics for The Epoch Times and has also focused on energy and the environment. Nathan has written about everything from fusion energy and ESG to Biden's classified documents and international conservative politics. He lives and works in Chicago. Nathan can be reached at nathan.worcester@epochtimes.us

Nathan Worcester

2024 Elections

02_Second Lead

Donald Trump

Latest and breaking news, documentaries, movies, and lifestyle content on NTD+.
 
Empower your knowledge and elevate your spirit with NTD+, your go-to destination for truthful news, insightful documentaries, and captivating lifestyle content that enriches your life.