McCain visits Wayne County, discusses jobs

Presumptive presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., paid a visit to Wayne County on Thursday in what may have been a bid to win over the votes of Michigan’s large and primarily Democratic voting population of unionized workers.

McCain sat down with 250 undecided voters and auto industry employees at Bayloff Stamped Products during the invitation-only gathering.

Ben Morlock, chairman for the MSU College Republicans, said winning votes from unions such as the United Auto Workers could mean the difference in the tightly contested Michigan race.

“All of these organizations heavily promote Democratic candidates and try to convince their members to support Democrats,” Morlock said. “What the Republicans and Senator McCain need to do in order to win this state is to appeal to and start a dialogue with these union members.”

Michigan’s job loss problem was among the main topics of discussion during the meeting.

“We’ve got big problems, and we’ve got big challenges,” McCain told the crowd.

He added that he understands the economic woes Michigan and the country face and said he’d make sure trade policies are enforced fairly. But he also warned that the United States needs to have open markets.

“When we practiced isolation and protectionism (in the past), then, my friends, America has suffered rather dramatically,” he said.

McCain said job creation starts with small businesses such as Bayloff, which makes more than 80 million parts a year and employs more than 200 workers, about half of them in Wayne County’s Van Buren Township.

He criticized Democratic rival Barack Obama’s support for expanded health care because he says it will increase businesses’ costs.

McCain delivered prepared remarks for about 15 minutes before taking questions from the audience on trade, education, business tax credits, immigration policy and energy.

The visit was McCain’s first to Michigan since he held a May 7 town hall meeting at Oakland University in Rochester.

On Wednesday, several small business owners in Michigan endorsed his economic plan, which they said would help small businesses by cutting taxes and regulation.

McCain said after the event that he has met with leaders of the domestic automakers, and that he’d like to help the auto industry any way he can.

McCain plans to visit the state next Thursday for a fundraiser in Spring Lake, said state GOP activist Chuck Yob, who’s working with the McCain campaign in Michigan.

The last time Michigan voted for a Republican presidential candidate was in 1988, when Ronald Reagan garnered the majority of the state’s votes. However, in the 2004 election, John Kerry only surpassed George W. Bush by a margin of 51 percent to 48 percent of Michigan votes. With no clear forerunner this year, Michigan is expected to be an important swing state.

“(Senator McCain) has a very strong chance,” Morlock said. “This is the best chance a Republican has had to win the state of Michigan in a long time.”

Staff writer Kelly House contributed to this report.