Sixty-two days out from the general election on Nov. 6, President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney are busy campaigning across the country, including at their own party’s conventions.

The Democratic Party’s leadership will be exhibited this week during the Democratic National Convention, or DNC, in Charlotte, N.C.

Party leaders also are working on more outreach for Obama in Michigan. The state historically has voted for Democratic presidential candidates, but this year, it comes down to the wire for the candidates to show people what they stand for.

Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer said Obama’s record during the past four years, especially his support for Michigan industries, will show the state its candidate.

“I think it’s a matter of getting voters to draw the contrast between Mitt Romney and the president,” Brewer said.

Buyer’s remorse
In 2008, Obama launched his way to the presidency after courting young voters with a campaign for hope and change, taking advantage of social media and grassroots campaign efforts.

This year, with a polarized political atmosphere and deeper voter apathy, his road to a second term in the White House isn’t looking so effortless.

In most of the recent polls conducted last month by various polling agencies, Obama has a slight lead over Romney, but poll numbers have fluctuated, indicating a decreased approval in Obama’s performance as president.

Obama is leading Romney by 3 percent in an EPIC-MRA poll conducted Aug. 28, but Romney leads the president by 1 percent in an Aug. 25 poll by ABC News and The Washington Post.

In a poll released Monday by Public Policy Polling, Obama led Romney 51 percent to 44 percent in a survey of about 815 Michigan voters. The survey had a margin of error of 3.4 percent.

Political science professor Corwin Smidt said Obama, as an incumbent, faces more negative rhetoric, which could contribute to his low poll numbers.

Social relations and policy sophomore Curtis Audette, among the youngest of Michigan’s delegates at the DNC this week, said Obama’s drop in popularity among young people is apparent, but he still holds hope for an Obama victory.

Audette described some of the feelings toward Obama as “buyer’s remorse,” voting for a candidate they once supported but since changing their minds.

“The honeymoon was over a while ago, I can say that much,” Audette said.
“(And) I wouldn’t expect there to be another honeymoon.”

Tough choices
For Brewer, most of the ire against Romney comes from his stance on the auto industry bailouts of 2008.

Romney publicly opposed granting car companies bailout funds during the economic downturn and wrote an op-ed piece in The New York Times condemning government intervention.

Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who spoke to the Michigan delegation Monday, said Obama’s decision to bail out the auto companies saved Michigan’s economy.

“If not for President Obama’s bold move to bail out the auto industry … Michigan would have been gone,” Wasserman Schultz said.

Smidt said Romney’s views on the bailouts likely will influence Michiganians’ choice at the polls, but it’s difficult to determine just how much.

Romney also has used his upbringing in Michigan to relate to Michigan voters, visiting the state on several occasions this summer and sharing memories of his time in the state.

As much as Romney talks about being a Michiganian, however, he might not have much to gain for his association, considering the negative implications of his auto industry statements, Smidt said in a previous interview.

A local level
“We consider Michigan a battleground state, and an important one at that,” Wasserman Schultz said. “We’re going to be focusing, as we have, on standing up with the most significant grassroots presidential campaign in history.”

Obama’s campaign in Michigan has opened new offices, gone door to door and created a phone call bank for campaign volunteers to reach voters, Wasserman Schultz said.

Vice President Joe Biden also visited Detroit Monday morning for a Labor Day rally supporting the middle class and praising the work of auto company employees who worked to rebuild the industry.

As highly publicized as presidential elections are, for the Democrats to keep Michigan, their
campaigns also come down to local races for the state House of Representatives, state Senate and state Supreme Court, Brewer said.

“We’ve got a very full to-do list up and down the ticket,” Brewer said.