Word: michigan
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...last the Democrats have a heavyweight contender, a candidate who can win a . major Northern industrial state away from his native turf. After weeks of uncertainty and split verdicts, one Democrat can rightfully claim that he has the Big Mo. With his stunning upset victory in last Saturday's Michigan caucuses, Jesse Jackson has staked his claim to be taken seriously as the party's front runner...
After roaring through Michigan, Jackson was indeed at the head of the Democratic pack. He has received more votes in primaries and caucuses than any other contender. When the final Michigan results are tallied, Jackson, with roughly 600 convention delegates, may have pulled virtually even with Michael Dukakis. The odds against a Jackson nomination remain prohibitive. But after his Michigan miracle, this most unexpected front runner could proclaim that the results reflect the "message, the authenticity and the soul of Jesse Jackson, versus the mechanics and the money of my opposition...
Most political experts had expected a Dukakis victory, since Michigan's generally low-turnout caucuses placed a heavy premium on organization and endorsements. Dukakis had both in excess: rival camps estimated that he spent up to $1.5 million in the state -- three times as much as any other contender -- and he boasted the backing of Detroit Mayor Coleman Young and most of Governor James Blanchard's political lieutenants...
Dukakis must do well in Michigan to prove, finally, that he can attract the Democrats' core blue-collar constituency. He has the endorsement of former U.A.W. President Douglas Fraser and a bulging wallet, but still no ability to generate much emotional attachment. Detroit Mayor Coleman Young's halfhearted quasi-endorsement is likely to hurt the Massachusetts Governor as much as help him. Says State Democratic Committee Member Morley Winograd: "It won't get him any white votes, in fact it could cost him white votes in the Detroit suburbs, and the black vote will go to Jesse...
Gore is making an effort in Michigan, picking up the endorsements of the party's top legislative leaders. But he suffers from playing out his "I'm one of you" message in the South, and he has yet to find another message. He flirted in Illinois with becoming the anti-Establishment candidate, a hard metamorphosis for a Senator's son who attended St. Albans and Harvard. But he seems most at home talking defense or microchips. The only passion he could muster in Illinois -- a speech about the Government's important role in the coming information revolution, delivered in front...