(WXMI) — From the balance of power in Congress to the resident of the White House, Michigan's vote will play a pivotal role this election cycle.
And the buildup to election night has already proven that. We looked into why Michigan matters.
The mitten is as purple as it comes, a sea of red with high concentrations of blue.
It’s a perfect storm that has attracted non-stop visits by both sides of the presidential ticket.
"Turnout, turnout, turnout. And so they're trying to keep both sides really excited and energized," says Prof. Eric Juenke, who teaches political science at Michigan State University (MSU).
He says a number of elements factor into the frequent visits: underlying demographics, a competitive Senate race, and even the geographical makeup of the state.
"You have the bigger cities: Grand Rapids, Detroit, Lansing area, and so you can visit these places, Kalamazoo, and really affect a lot of votes,” Juenke explains. “So it's not like you've got to hit 10 different spots to go and get your message across. You can really kind of concentrate as to get through the state."
Kent County specifically has seen each of the four candidates at the top of the ticket this year.
It's anybody's race now and for the foreseeable future.
"As a purple state, we're going to continue to kind of be the focus of these elections for the coming years," Juenke adds.
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