ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Today the swing state of Michigan is the main stop for both Vice President Harris and former President Donald Trump. Both have multiple appearances planned across the state. Colin Jackson of the Michigan Public Radio Network has been following them, and he's with us now. Hey, Colin.
COLIN JACKSON, BYLINE: Hey, Ari.
SHAPIRO: Let's start with Oakland County, which has lots of Detroit suburbs. Why are both candidates making stops there?
JACKSON: So that's right. They both have stops planned within hours of each other. And Oakland County is where you'll find key demographics that both campaigns are hoping to attract. You know, there's a lot of manufacturing jobs, especially tied to the auto industry. It's the home of Chrysler. And Trump's not going to be that far away, and the campaign may see this as the right place to hit Harris on the economy while promoting his own plans for tariffs on trade. It's also worth noting that Trump sees blue-collar union workers as up for grabs this election.
SHAPIRO: Are they both speaking to union audiences today?
JACKSON: Yes, and Vice President Kamala Harris is going to be speaking at a union hall in Lansing at the state's capitol today, too. At a different campaign a week ago, I spoke with union members at an event for Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. That's Harris' Vice President pick. I spoke with Venus Powell. She's a union member from Detroit who currently lives in the suburbs, and she was there supporting Walz and Harris.
VENUS POWELL: Well, I know that we all united. We all stick together. And everybody is strongly running for Harris, so I believe that she's going to win. And long as we all stick together and be in solidarity, we'll be OK.
JACKSON: For Harris, this is a chance to work on support among both those union workers as well as suburban women. She's gotten endorsements from the UAW, AFL-CIO and Michigan Teamsters, though the national Teamsters declined to endorse. Her campaigns also leaned heavily into issues that seem to resonate with suburban women, especially on reproductive rights. You know, Oakland County once was known for being Republican, but Democrats have made serious gains within the last couple decades there.
SHAPIRO: We've seen the Harris campaign pushing to win over moderate Republican voters across the country. How is that working in Michigan?
JACKSON: Well, the Harris campaign is really going after some of those conservative voters who may have voted for Nikki Haley in the primary election and may have doubts about Donald Trump. I asked Michigan Republican Party Chair Pete Hoekstra his thoughts on the effort to peel off some conservative voters, and he said he didn't really see it as a threat.
PETE HOEKSTRA: Come on over and try getting Republican votes. But - because the more time you spend going after votes that you can't get and you're not going to get enables us to go after groups that clearly are demonstrating they want to vote for Donald Trump.
JACKSON: You know, the way Hoekstra sees it, Democrats are distracted trying to chase after moderate Republican voters. And he says his party strategy is capitalizing on that. You know, while Democrats are focusing their attention elsewhere, he's trying to pick up parts of their traditional coalitions. You know, think union members or Black Americans.
SHAPIRO: What does the appeal to those voting groups look like? What are they actually doing?
JACKSON: Well, each of the campaign stops I've gone to, you know, there's been a visible effort to include Black people on the speaking lineup. There has been Republican lawmakers and candidates, the pastor of a Detroit church where Trump spoke earlier this year. The campaign says his policies are beneficial to Black Americans and are going to lead to economic prosperity. The campaign is also accusing Harris of pandering.
You know, but the campaign has been making frequent campaign stops to southeast Michigan, especially in the city of Detroit, where Trump will also be today as well as in the suburbs. But it's worth noting that when I've gone to these events in Detroit and in Metro Detroit, you know, a lot of the folks I've talked to have still been largely white. And the audiences I've talked to have largely not been from the city of Detroit, even if that's where they're seeing Trump.
SHAPIRO: That's Colin Jackson of Michigan Public Radio Network in Detroit. Thanks a lot.
JACKSON: Thanks for having me.
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