McCain Wins Washington

Michigan delegate update

As we've noted, Florida has been stripped of its delegates due its early primary. Michigan's situation, however, is a little more complicated:

As Iowa voters gear up for Thursday’s caucuses, Michigan Democrats have just a few days to change their scheduled Jan. 15 presidential primary or lose all their delegates to the Democratic National Convention in August. The conflict began when Michigan’s legislature set the Jan. 15 primary so voters could exercise greater influence over the selection of the party nominees for the 2008 presidential race, but Michigan Democrats appear likely to end up with no delegates at all and thus little clout at the national party convention in Denver.

The rule-making division of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) recommended on Dec. 1 that the party strip the Michigan Democratic Party of its 156 delegates because of the state’s non-compliance with national party rules. The DNC set Feb. 5 as the earliest date states can schedule their nominating contests [outside of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican John McCain holds a slim lead on rival Mitt Romney in Michigan one day before the state's hotly contested presidential nominating contest, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Monday.

McCain, an Arizona senator who won the New Hampshire primary last week, narrowly leads Romney 27 percent to 24 percent among likely Republican voters in Michigan, within the poll's margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.

Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who was raised in Michigan, is hunting for a breakthrough win in the state on Tuesday to keep his White House hopes alive after second-place finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire.

"It's very close, and it has been close every day that we have polled," said pollster John Zogby. The rolling survey of 915 likely Republican primary voters was taken Friday through Sunday.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who won Iowa's kick-off contest, was third at 15 percent in Michigan. He was followed by Texas Rep. Ron Paul at 8 percent, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani at 6 percent and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson at 5 percent.

Romney Takes 2% Lead Over McCain

Huckabee Distant Third

Romney 29%, McCain 27%, Huckabee 12%

LANSING, Mich. — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has taken a 2% lead over U.S. Sen. John McCain according to results of a tracking poll conducted Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Romney leads with 29% to McCain’s 27% with Mike Huckabee at 12%. Rudy Giuliani and Ron Paul are getting 7%, Fred Thompson 4%, and Duncan Hunter 2%, among likely voters in the Michigan Republican Presidential Primary Election. Six percent say they will vote “uncommitted” while 5% are undecided.

The telephone tracking poll is being conducted by Mitchell Interactive. Mitchell Interactive is an East Lansing, Michigan and Washington, DC based national political polling and market research company. The survey of 582 likely Republican Presidential Primary voters was conducted January 10, 12 and 13, 2008. The survey has a margin of error of +-4.1% at the 95% level of confidence.

“As the undecided voters make up their minds, more are turning to Mitt Romney than to John McCain. We have also seen the participation among Republicans increase from 62% last night to 75% at the end of phoning tonight. That means that 75% of the voters taking part in the GOP Primary identify themselves as Republicans,” Steve Mitchell, president of Mitchell Interactive said.

A Detroit News/WXYZ Action News poll shows McCain with 27 percent, Romney at 26 percent; and Huckabee at 19 percent. All three campaigned in Michigan on Saturday. McCain, a senator from Arizona, and Michigan-born Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, are scheduled to continue their sprint drive Sunday. Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, is campaigning in South Carolina on Sunday, but is expected to return to Michigan on Monday, election eve.

Election 2008: Michigan Republican Primary

Michigan: Romney 26% McCain 25% Huckabee 17%

The seven day campaign leading up to Michigan’s Republican Presidential Primary began with a toss-up between Mitt Romney and John McCain.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey found Romney with 26% of the vote, McCain with 25%, and Mike Huckabee with 17%. The survey was conducted on Wednesday night, immediately following the New Hampshire Primary.