“Get rid of Detroit, and Michigan is as conservative as any Southern state.”
That’s basically true in most states: get rid of the one or two giant ghetto/Communist urban centers, and the rest of the state is quite conservative. Still, it’s a good reminder. Being somewhat naive, it was rather shocking to me to run into several folks that had moved from Michigan to Colorado with whom I could only characterize as rednecks, as red a neck as any of the rednecks I grew up with in the South. And I say this not to disparage rednecks either: I’ve known quite a few really fine redneck folk in my life. I would FAR rather hang with most rednecks than almost any liberal/progressive/Marxist/Communist/Obammunist. I guess I hadn’t yet realized that rednecks weren’t confined to just the South.
Look at the political map of Michigan. A full 1/2 of all state house districts are outside the metropolitan Detroit counties; of those 55 districts, 45 are represented by Republicans. Republicans control the state House by 64 to 46 and the Senate by 26 to 12; the governor and lieutenant governor are Republicans.
Why wouldn’t Michigan be in play this time?
Trust me, there is a reason for the term "Michigan Hillbilly". Just Google the term and see all the hits that comeback.
Jeff Foxworthy gets ALL his jokes from my relatives.