1 of 3 | Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump greets supporters after speaking at a campaign rally, in Warren, Mich. Trump holds a commanding lead in polls there headed into Tuesday's primary. Photo by Molly Riley/UPI |
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LANSING, Mich., March 8 (UPI) -- All eyes shift to Michigan in the race for the Republican and Democratic presidential nominations, the largest prize of the four states casting ballots Tuesday.
On the Republican side, front-runner Donald Trump holds a commanding double-digit lead in polls. That includes surveys conducted since last week's GOP debate in Detroit -- during which Trump made a barely veiled reference to his penis -- and after a broadside attack from the party's 2012 nominee, Mitt Romney.
For the Democrats, front-runner Hillary Clinton also holds a significant lead over her lone challenger, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Michigan, with its large number of black and minority voters in Detroit, figures to be a good fit for the former first lady in her quest to win the Democratic nomination.
Romney's attack on Trump could carry more sway in Michigan, a state where his family has longstanding ties. Romney's father, George, was governor there; his niece, Ronna Romney McDaniel, is chairwoman of the state's Republican party.
And while Romney claimed his attack helped influence voters in several states on Saturday, when Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas won more delegates than Trump in four states, polls show Michigan is poised to hand momentum back to the party's front-runner.
There are 59 delegates at stake on the Republican side and 147 for the Democrats. Both parties will award those delegates proportionally, meaning candidates who meet a minimum threshold of the vote will qualify to earn at least a handful of delegates to pad their totals.
Besides, Michigan, GOP voters go to the polls Tuesday in Idaho, Hawaii and Mississippi. Democrats will vote in Michigan and Mississippi.
