Joe Biden travels Wednesday to key Macomb County city

Joe Biden will visit Macomb County Wednesday as the Democratic presidential candidate looks to undercut President Donald Trump in a county that helped lift the Republican to victory four years ago.

Biden's campaign announced the upcoming trip to Michigan last week. On Tuesday, the campaign specified that the former vice president will deliver remarks in Warren at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday on "his plan to ensure the future is made in America by all of America’s workers," according to an advisory.

The event is not open to the public.

"To me, Macomb County really represents the heart of what this election is all about," said U.S. Rep. Andy Levin, D-Bloomfield Township. "Who can help the working class of this country get back in the game?"

Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton by about 12 percentage points in Macomb County in 2016 on his way to a 10,704-vote statewide victory. It was Trump's smallest margin of victory nationally as he became the first GOP presidential nominee to carry Michigan since 1988.

Barack Obama, a Democrat, carried Macomb County by 4 points in 2012 and 9 points in 2008. Democrat Gretchen Whitmer also won the county by 4 points in 2018 on her way to becoming Michigan governor.

The county's "political importance just can't be overstated," said Levin, whose U.S. House district includes a portion of the county.

Biden last visited Michigan for the state's March 10 Democratic presidential primary, holding a campaign rally the prior night at Detroit Renaissance High School.

Trump himself visited Warren on Jan. 30 as he made an official White House stop in Macomb County to speak at a Dana Inc. manufacturing facility and he visited a Ford Motor Co. plant in May. The president will also visit Michigan this week for an event at an airport hangar near Saginaw on Thursday night.

cmauger@detroitnews.com