Details about this story

• Source: Detroit News
• Date: November 06, 2006
• URL: Read the story
• Bylines: Gordon Trowbridge
• Topics: Elections
• Data Types: State Data
• Description/Excerpt: In a nation of red and blue states, color Michigan a confused purple. Not since 1988 has a Republican presidential candidate carried the state, and only one Republican has represented Michigan in the U.S. Senate since 1980. But Republicans have dominated the state Legislature since the late '80s. And in a campaign year full of embattled Republican incumbents across the nation, Michigan's Democratic governor and U.S. senator are fighting for re-election, while Republicans are likely to hold their 9-6 majority in the U.S. House delegation. A look at Michigan's recent political history reveals the swingingest of swing states. In 10 major statewide races since 1998, out of more than 34 million votes cast, Republicans hold a meager edge, 51 percent to 49 percent. As interviews with politicians, political analysts and Michigan voters show, a whirl of trends and counter-trends makes the state hotly competitive.