Amy Klobuchar's third-place finish in Tuesday's New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary was a boost for the Minnesota U.S. senator, who has touted her practicality and Midwestern roots in an uphill battle to win states like Michigan .
Klobuchar has visited Michigan more times on the campaign trail than any of her rivals, entering the state at least six times since declaring her candidacy a year ago. She was the first presidential candidate to visit a series of striking United Auto Workers union members in September.
Klobuchar's seven delegates through two Democratic contests is the fourth-highest among the eight candidates. She follows Massachusetts US Sen. Elizabeth Warren's total by one proxy and is ahead of former Vice President Joe Biden by one.
Klobuchar has stayed in the race longer than some predicted, said Detroit-based Democratic political consultant Mario Morrow.
“Overall, it's been a stealth candidate that has moved the needle, amazingly,” Morrow said. “He has excellent credentials and connects with voters across the country, including Michigan.”
Four years ago, Vermont US Senator Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire primary with 60% of the vote over Hillary Clinton. But Sanders came out on top Tuesday with about 26 percent, as former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Klobuchar captured some of his former base of support, Morrow said.
From here, he said, Klobuchar must create an urban agenda to capture the vote of African-Americans, Latinos and other minorities.
“He has a lot of work to do in the primaries coming up that have a large percentage of African-American voters,” Morrow said, referring to Nevada's Feb. 22 and South Carolina's Feb. 29 primaries. “It's very early in the game and Iowa and New Hampshire are not representative of the United States of America.”
“With black people and Amy, it's not about 'what have you done for me lately,' it's about 'what have you done for me.'
East Lansing resident Mary Wickens sees Klobuchar as a formidable opponent for Republican President Donald Trump. The 59-year-old former county attorney has won Trump's favor in some of her state's most Republican counties.
“A lot of people see her rising to this point,” said Wickens, a lawyer and longtime Democrat. “She's sensible. She's fit and works incredibly hard. All of that drew me to her. I absolutely believe it's time for a woman to lead this country.”
Klobuchar is among three female candidates in the eight-candidate Democratic field and has touted her ability to win the election.
“Yes, I have bold ideas, but they're grounded in reality,” Klobuchar said during one of two Democratic presidential debates in Detroit in late July. “And, yes, I'll make some simple promises. I can earn it. I'm from the Midwest.”
The latest campaign finance figures show Klobuchar had $4.9 million in reserve after spending $10.1 million in the most recent reporting period. He has trailed most other candidates in fundraising in Michigan.
Visits to Michigan
Klobuchar most recently attended a forum in late September with Warren sponsored by the United Food and Commercial Workers International union. Both used the Madison Heights event to support Trump's impeachment. He was acquitted after a January Senate trial.
Klobuchar in September also became the first presidential candidate to visit then-striking General Motors Co workers. on the picket line, greeting UAW members with donuts outside the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant.
The visit was part of Klobuchar's “Blue Wall” tour of key Midwest states that Trump won in 2016. She has touted her record of winning in traditionally Republican-held parts of Minnesota.
Klobuchar has clashed with Sanders over health care, most recently arguing during a Friday debate in New Hampshire that Sanders' Medicare for All plan is unrealistic.
“It's not real, Bernie, because two-thirds of the Democrats in the Senate are not on your bill and because it would throw 149 million Americans off their health insurance over four years,” he said.
Klobuchar said her approach to the public option is “progressive and hands-on.” He has co-sponsored bills that would allow states to allow all their residents to buy Medicaid coverage or let any American buy a public insurance plan based on Medicare in the Affordable Care Act's exchanges.
Regardless of who the final candidate is, winning the battleground state will be critical to the party's success, said Michigan Democratic Party Chairwoman Lavora Barnes.
“They should speak to the concerns of working families in communities across our state and build a ground game that can turn out important constituencies,” Barnes said in a statement.
Klobuchar, who easily won a third term in the U.S. Senate in 2018, has highlighted her broad appeal across Minnesota.
Trump narrowly lost Democratic-dominated Minnesota to Democrat Hillary Clinton, while winning Michigan by 10,704 votes, or less than two-tenths of a percentage point.
Former presidential candidate and Pennsylvania U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak endorsed Klobuchar last week, saying she is uniquely qualified.
“We need a candidate with the depth and breadth of experience to govern effectively, a proven track record of winning red and blue districts and states so we can put this country back together and understand the need to rebuild our global leadership. it can convene the world to address the defining challenges of our time,” Sestak said in a statement.
Critics hit record highs
Klobuchar's legislative record has drawn criticism from the GOP and some fellow Democrats who question whether she has the ability to get things done.
Klobuchar advocated for tougher sentences for juvenile offenders while campaigning in the late 1990s for Hennepin County District Attorney. But the party's mood has since shifted toward criminal justice reforms, so it has faced scrutiny over its record on racial justice amid new questions raised by an Associated Press investigation into the controversial prosecution of Myron Burrell, who serving life behind bars in 2002. shooting death of 11-year-old girl. He maintains his innocence.
In a recent interview with “Fox News Sunday,” Klobuchar denied having knowledge of any evidence that would call the conviction into question.
The Michigan Republican Party said it is not afraid of Klobuchar's campaign, saying it paves the way for another historic victory in November as Democrats “chop each other in their divisive primaries.”
“As Democrats now begin to pour into a state with which they have no connection, the Michigan Republican Party and Trump Victory have been on the ground and in every corner of the state since the beginning of 2019,” said party chair Laura Cox. a statement. “Unprecedented data and the GOP's extensive ground game give us an incredible advantage and the opportunity to reach more voters sooner than ever before.”
On the subjects
Klobuchar's platform includes her co-sponsorship of the Green New Deal, a Democratic clean energy plan proposed to combat climate change.
In the wake of the coronavirus, Klobuchar last month released a plan to prevent and respond to global outbreaks like the new virus, which has sickened people in China and spread to more than a dozen countries, including the United States.
Klobuchar said she would invest in early warning systems to help stop outbreaks before they become pandemics, increase stockpiles of existing vaccines and invest in the development of new vaccines, and increase funding for health departments and services.
For DeWitt's Karen Clark, the top priority this election cycle is getting a Democrat back into the White House.
To do that, he argues, the party needs a moderate candidate, and Klobuchar may be its best chance.
“I find Amy to be honest. I find her simple and silly,” said Clark, a 56-year-old senior project director for the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research in Michigan. University. “I like the fact that he's going out there and saying, 'I'm not going to feed you a bunch of false promises.'
“I'm going to vote blue no matter who,” Clark added. “But I'd like to see her campaign gain more traction. She appeals to a lot of the middle class and a lot of people in our state.”
In rural Charlotte, near Battle Creek, Becky Lake said she has been pushing for a Klobuchar White House run since 2017 and created a Twitter hashtag to promote it.
Lake, who was working in Minnesota on a contract basis when Klobuchar first entered politics, said she has always admired the senator's Midwestern values — “hard work, taking care of family and taking care of each other.”
“Amy has a lot of experience and she's been pretty low-key, but she still gets it done,” said Lake, 60, who works in real estate and regularly donates to Klobuchar's campaign.
“She will make a great first woman president.”
Klobuchar has experience and a platform that resonates with Michigan voters, said TJ Bucholz, president and CEO of Democratic consultancy Vanguard Public Affairs.
“He brings a Midwest sensibility that I think resonates with moderate voters here,” Bucholz said. “He's talking about pocketbook issues, issues important to the average voter.”
cferretti@detroitnews.com
Amy Klobuchar
Condition: Minnesota
Age: 59
Claims to fame: The three-term senator from Minnesota raised her national profile during a Senate committee hearing on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh when she asked him if he had ever had so much to drink that he couldn't remember what happened. He replied, “Have you?”
Detroit's moment of conversation: “…I have won every race, every place, every time. And I will rule with integrity, the integrity that the outstanding people of this nation deserve.”
The greatest strength: She is known as a hard-line legislator who has won over Republican parts of Minnesota.
Biggest Weakness: Her pragmatism may work against her as Democratic voters increasingly embrace liberal policies and positions. There were also news reports that he mistreated staff.
Candidate visits to Michigan: May 3 in Detroit. May 19 in Detroit. July 23 in Detroit. July 30 in Detroit. Sept. 19 in Detroit, Hamtramck and River Rouge, Sept. 29 in Madison Heights.
