Kathleen Gray

Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau

GRAND RAPIDS -- The choice for the White House is stark, Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine told a crowd of about 500 people Friday.

And while polls have delivered good news for the campaign of Hillary Clinton since last week's convention wrapped up, "this is an election season of surprises," Kaine said. "You have to believe, this is going to be a pitched battle like no other."

That was the purpose of Kaine's visit to Michigan — his first since accepting the vice presidential nomination last week: to fire up a crowd in a typically Republican region of the state and motivate the few dozen volunteers who were working at the newly opened Democratic campaign office in Grand Rapids.

"Do you want a 'you’re hired' president or 'you’re fired' president?" Kaine said, adopting Republican nominee Donald Trump's catchphrase on the reality television show "The Apprentice." "The only person he says anything good about is Vladimir Putin. He trash talks people with disabilities ... and women. Two days ago he threw a crying baby out of a rally. I have a hard time figuring out who’s the baby in this election."

Kaine's visit to Michigan started a frenzied week as the state becomes the focus of this year's presidential campaign.

Kaine's stop at the Wealthy Street Theater in Grand Rapids continued the campaign's "Jobs Tour," which lays out Clinton's plan to invest in the country's infrastructure and struggling manufacturing communities and its workers. But the main topic of his speech was Trump. Kaine skewered Trump for making ties and crystal and furniture overseas, as well as bragging about paying as few taxes as possible.

"When this campaign is over …. the two words we’ll remember about Donald Trump," Kaine said and the crowd yelled back "YOU'RE FIRED."

In response late Friday, Michigan Republican Party chairman Ronna Romney McDaniel said: “Democrats continue to peddle the failed policies that brought us the Lost Decade ... The Kaine and Clinton ‘jobs plan’ won’t help our economy recover, and will only further increase the national debt."

On Monday, Trump heads to Detroit to lay out his vision for the American economy to members of the Detroit Economic Club, a frequent stop-over for presidential hopefuls. Trump's last stop in the state was in March before the state's presidential primary election. His running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, was in Grand Rapids and Novi last week.

And on Wednesday, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton heads to southeast Michigan for a big-ticket fund-raiser in Birmingham and another public event that hasn't been announced yet. Clinton was last in Michigan in May when she spoke at the NAACP's annual Fight for Freedom dinner.

The visits come as polls taken following the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia last week show Clinton opening up a big lead over Trump in the state.

While the Democratic support for Clinton was strong inside the Grand Rapids theater, a handful of protesters, supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, gathered outside holding signs and chanting things like "Jill, not Hill," referring to Green Party candidate Jill Stein.

But Lupe Ramos-Montigny, a member of the State Board of Education, said it is critical that Michigan remain a blue state.

"We are here because we are ready to make history," she said. "We have to continue working together to make sure we break the highest glass ceiling by electing the first woman president."

Contact Kathleen Gray: 313-223-4430, kgray99@freepress.com or on Twitter @michpoligal.