GOP candidates barnstorm Mich. before Tuesday primary

YPSILANTI, Mich. -- Mitt Romney and John McCain argued about their concern for the auto industry, while Mike Huckabee spotlighted his opposition to abortion, as the Republican presidential contenders campaigned Saturday before Michigan's potentially make-or-break primary.

Romney, seeking a rebound in Tuesday's primary after losing to Huckabee in the Iowa caucuses and McCain in the New Hampshire primary, made an impromptu stop at a General Motors plant near here after 200 layoffs were announced last week.

He pledged to make restoring the domestic auto industry -- once the linchpin of Michigan's economy -- a top priority if elected president.

"In some respects, Michigan is like the canary in the mine shaft: What Michigan is experiencing, the whole nation will experience unless we fix what's happening in Michigan and learn lessons here we can apply across the nation," he said in Traverse City amid a fly-around of the state.

A Detroit News poll being released Sunday showed the race a statistical dead heat, with McCain at 27 percent and Romney at 26 percent. Huckabee was third with 19 percent.

Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., greeted supporters at a campaign rally Saturday at Clawson High School in Clawson, Mich. (Charles Dharapak)

McCain defended his comment during a raucous rally before 400 supporters in Warren.

"Jobs are leaving the state of Michigan," McCain said. "They have left and will not come back, but we're going to create jobs, we're going to create a new economy. This is the smartest technological place in America. We have the smartest people here. We can do it."

Economics were a focal point because Michigan's unemployment rate, at 7.4 percent in November, is a full percentage point higher than any other state.

Huckabee's alternate focus on social issues highlighted his effort to reinvigorate the coalition of religious voters that propelled him to victory in Iowa.

The former Southern Baptist minister emphasized his opposition to abortion as he urged about 100 pastors in Grand Rapids to support him and use their address books and e-mail lists to mobilize others.

"I don't presume that you will support me because of a common faith," Huckabee said. "... But I also recognize this is a unique opportunity. For a long time, those of us who are people of faith have been asked to support a candidate who would talk to us. But rarely has there been one who comes from us."

He added, "Life is in the balance."

Comparing abortion to slavery, Huckabee also said that overturning the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion would merely allow states to decide whether to value one life or another and called for a constitutional amendment banning the practice. He also played up his opposition to gay marriage, saying that traditional marriage helps "train our replacements."

While only 34 delegates were up for grabs in Michigan Tuesday, the candidate activity highlighted the state's importance in the battle for momentum.

McCain is hoping to build on his New Hampshire victory. Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, is trying to recapture energy heading into next week's South Carolina primary. He decamped from Michigan to attend church Sunday in South Carolina, but he changed his schedule to return to Michigan Sunday afternoon and remain until Tuesday, seeking a surprise finish.

Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, is seeking a first-place finish after his earlier second-place finishes prompted questions about whether he has hit a ceiling of support. Michigan is especially important: Romney grew up here and his father, George, was a three-term governor in the 1960s.

Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was campaigning in Florida Saturday, has ceded Michigan to the others. Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, campaigning in South Carolina, played on his expertise as a talk radio host before an overflowing crowd at a pancake house in North Charleston.