Donald Trump will make campaign stop in Michigan this weekend
Craig MaugerFormer President Donald Trump will make his first Michigan campaign stop of the 2024 election year in Oakland County on Saturday.
Trump's campaign announced the visit Monday. The Republican candidate will hold a "get out the vote" rally at 7 p.m. at a venue at the Oakland County International Airport in Waterford Township, according to a Trump campaign press release.
The event will take place 10 days ahead of Michigan's Feb. 27 presidential primary election, in which Trump is competing for GOP votes with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who served as his ambassador to the United Nations.
Trump will arrive in Michigan on the first day that municipal clerks are mandated to hold early, in-person voting at designated polling precincts across the state. Early voting will continue for nine days leading up to the Feb. 27 primary.
The primary election will garner media attention, but most of Michigan's delegates to the July Republican national convention will be awarded through caucuses that take place on March 2 in Detroit.
Trump is currently a heavy favorite to get the Republican presidential nomination and is expected to face Democratic President Joe Biden in the November general election.
Four years ago, Biden defeated Trump in Michigan by 3 percentage points, 51%-48%, or about 154,000 votes.
Biden made his first Michigan campaign stop of 2024 on Feb. 1, visiting restaurant in Harper Woods and Warren and speaking to supporters at a United Auto Workers hall in Warren.
Trump last came to Michigan on Sept. 27, during the UAW strike, when he spoke at Drake Enterprises, an non-union auto parts supplier in Clinton Township.
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cmauger@detroitnews.com