LANSING, Michigan — Republican front-runner Donald Trump faces a test of his durability with white, working-class voters in Michigan, the first industrial state to vote in the 2016 primaries and the biggest prize among four states casting ballots Tuesday in the turbulent Republican presidential race.
Mississippi, Idaho and Hawaii are also holding Republican contests. Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders face off in Michigan and Mississippi.
Squeezed between last week's high-profile Super Tuesday contests and high-stakes primaries next week in Florida and Ohio, Tuesday's contests are unlikely to dramatically reshape either party's primaries. But with 150 Republican and 179 Democratic delegates to the parties' national nominating conventions at stake, the races offer an opportunity for front-runners to pad leads and rivals to catch up.
While Trump has stunned Republicans with his broad appeal, he's forged a particularly strong connection with white working-class voters by emphasizing his opposition to international trade deals and support for building a wall along the US-Mexico border. With an eye on the general election, he's argued he could put Midwestern, Democratic-leaning industrial states such as Michigan and Wisconsin in play for Republicans.
Trump is facing competition from Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has failed to win a single primary so far but hopes Michigan can give him a boost heading into his home state's winner-take-all the delegates contest on March 15.
"It's not just the whole country that's watching Michigan — now the world's beginning to watch," Kasich said Monday during a campaign stop in the state. "You can help me send a message about positive, about vision, about hope, about putting us together."
Unless Kasich and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio can win in their home states next week, the Republican primary campaign is set to become a two-person race between Trump and Ted Cruz. The Texas senator, an uncompromising conservative who has publicly criticized party leaders, is sticking close to Trump in the delegate count. With six states in his win column, Cruz is arguing he's the only candidate standing between the brash billionaire and the Republican nomination.
During a stop at a catfish restaurant on Monday in Mississippi, Cruz said the current vacancy on the Supreme Court means Republicans can't take a chance on Trump.
"He's been supporting left-wing politicians for 40 years," Cruz said.
More mainstream Republicans have cast both Trump and Cruz as unelectable in a November face-off with the Democratic nominee. But they're quickly running out of easy options to stop their momentum, and are increasingly weighing long-shot ideas such as a contested convention or rallying around a yet-to-be-determined third-party candidate.
Clinton, meanwhile, appears to be on a steady path to the Democratic nomination. She's steadily grown her lead over Sanders, who has struggled to broaden his appeal beyond a loyal following of younger voters and liberals. — AP
