Former President Obama expected to campaign for Democrats in Michigan

Kathleen Gray | Detroit Free Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Obama greets 'Little Miss Flint' with massive bear hug President Obama responded to a letter from 8-year-old Amariyanna Copeny, aka "Little Miss Flint", in the best way: by visiting her in her hometown. They met in person just before he gave a speech about the water crisis impacting the Flint community.

Former President Barack Obama is expected to be the next big political name to head to Michigan later this week to stump for Democrats who are running up and down the ticket.

Sources with knowledge of the final two weeks of the campaign said no specifics are available, but they expect Obama, who won Michigan in both 2008 and 2012, will headline a rally for Democrats on Friday somewhere in Detroit.

More than 1,000 people attended a rally in Ann Arbor last week featuring U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a 2016 presidential candidate, for Democratic candidates, from gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer on down the ticket to candidates for the state Supreme Court and University of Michigan’s Board of Regents.

On Tuesday Lara Trump, daughter-in-law to President Donald Trump, is scheduled to campaign for Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Schuette, congressional candidates Lena Epstein and U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg and Republican U.S. Senate candidate John James. Also campaigning in Michigan for James on Oct. 17 were Donald Trump Jr., former Fox News contributor Kimberly Guilfoyle, Kid Rock and Ted Nugent.

More: Michelle Obama bringing book tour to Detroit's Little Caesars Arena

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While Schuette has said he expects President Trump to come to Michigan to campaign for him and other candidates, no visit has been announced yet.

During his presidency, Obama came to Michigan at least 17 times, including his last trip to campaign for Hillary Clinton in Ann Arbor on the day before the 2016 election. Trump won the state – the first Republican to do so since 1988 – by a narrow 10,704-vote margin. Obama hit all parts of the state during his eight years in office, from Marquette to Holland to Flint and the Detroit auto show.

Michigan responded, electing Obama by a 57-41 percent margin over U.S. Sen. John McCain in 2008 and a 54-45 percent margin over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in 2012.

Trump came to Michigan frequently during the 2016 presidential campaign, including a 1 a.m. rally on Election Day, and he returned to Grand Rapids in December 2016 right before his inauguration. He came back to the state for a meeting with automotive executives in Ypsilanti in 2017 and for an April rally in Macomb County, which went for Trump big in 2016 and helped provide the path to his victory.

A visit by Obama could help boost voter turnout in Detroit, which votes overwhelmingly for Democrats, and could help cement the lead in the polls that Whitmer and other Democrats have been enjoying for most of this general election season. The Real Clear Politics average of the polls taken in the state has Whitmer with a nine percentage point lead over Schuette.

Contact Kathleen Gray: kgray99@freepress.com or on Twitter @michpoligal.