Detroiters conflicted over candidates in 2020 Michigan primary

Feb. 28--Tom Wilson, a retired Detroit school teacher, has few complaints about his life in the city he calls his second greatest love behind his wife, Eileen.

His house is paid for. His investments, pension and social security provide a comfortable life that allows for occasional dinners at fancy restaurants without the dread caused by the thought of a pricey tab. And his retirement is anything but boring with daily swims at the neighborhood community center and an active social life with a wide circle of like-minded friends.

In this 2020 election cycle, Wilson, 73, may be exactly the kind of person President Donald Trump is looking to sway to the Republican side of the ledger: a financially stable retiree who might be persuaded by the message that African Americans are faring much better under his leadership.

But in this presidential election year, the choice is clear for Tom Wilson.

"There is no way I would ever vote for Trump. If it meant me going to hell or getting in to heaven to vote for Trump -- no, I'm hell-bound," he said. "Myself and my wife, we're very well off. But do I give credit to Trump for that? No. Barack put that train on the track."

This year, he's betting on former Vice President Joe Biden to win the Democratic nomination, but will cast a vote in November for whoever the nominee is, even if it's someone he wouldn't dream of voting for in the primary, such as U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

"It's kind of like bad medicine," he said. "You might not like it, but you gotta take it."

In a state where Trump won over Democrat Hillary Clinton with just 10,704 votes -- out of 4.8 million ballots in Michigan -- the losing side has dissected every variable:

-- The 75,000 people who voted, but skipped the presidential race altogether.

-- The more than 250,000 votes that went to third-party candidates.

-- And the nearly 50,000 margin of victory Macomb County voters gave Trump in 2016 compared with 2008 and 2012, when President Barack Obama got the bulk of the suburban Detroit vote.

But what continues to stand out for many Democrats is the decision by many Detroit voters, who have been a reliable and loyal key to Democratic victories over the years, to stay home in 2016.

President Barack Obama easily won Detroit with 97% of the vote in 2012 over Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. By 2016, Clinton also easily beat Republican Donald Trump in the Motor City with 95% of the vote -- but 42,598 fewer Detroit voters cast ballots for president than in 2012.

Will 2016 history be repeated?

In Detroit's neighborhoods, voters are pretty much united in their desire to beat Trump at the ballot box. But they're also not convinced that Detroiters will return to the turnout levels seen when Obama was on the ballot.

Politics is a frequent topic of discussion at James Barber Shop on the east side of Detroit, where owner Bryan James says: "You come into this barber shop, you're getting an education."

On Wednesday, James and three customers got into a wide-ranging discussion about the March primary and the November election.

All four said they plan to vote in both elections -- one had already cast his ballot in the primary -- but they're not convinced Detroit residents are going to show up at the polls in large numbers.

Marquis Kennedy, a Detroit resident who works in quality control in the auto industry, said Trump's election in 2016 has discouraged future participation by many minority voters.

"To see this guy get into office --and almost run this country into the ground -- has turned a lot of minority voters off," Kennedy said.

"I think we are less apt to vote -- that may sound surprising," said James. Though most Detroit voters want to get Trump out of office, "there's just too much diversity going on (in terms of the number of Democratic candidates) and our issues have still not been addressed."

Ray Foxworth, Sr., who has already cast his primary vote for New York businessman Mike Bloomberg, said of Detroit voters and the pending elections, "They're interested in it, but getting people to vote -- that's different,"

In 2016, James voted for Clinton in both the primary and the general election, based on her experience. This year, he remains undecided for the March primary.

He is considering Sanders, but in a head-to-head match-up, he likes Bloomberg against Trump "because they understand each other."

Both are wealthy New York businessmen, who understand the rough and tumble world of high finance and multi-million dollar deals.

Whatever the election outcome, in Detroit, "we're still going to be missing in action on what our needs are" in terms of issues such as effective and affordable health insurance, which tops his list of concerns.

In many parts of Detroit, members of the middle class, "or former middle class," who have their own health insurance but want to be better able to afford it, are living alongside those who are extremely disadvantaged and can't afford to pay for health insurance, James said.

"How are we going to mix the two?" asked James, who is paying close attention to the ongoing debate among Democratic presidential candidates on whether the U.S. should move to a universal and single-payer health care plan or maintain a private option.

So far, "we don't really feel comfortable with their solutions," James said. "Every time they say there's a solution for us, we end up paying for it."

Detroiters mostly want Trump defeated

Others are highly motivated to vote this year and will do whatever is necessary to pump up the turnout in Detroit.

Wilson is active in Democratic politics and will be wherever he needs to be in the months leading up to November to ensure the state flips back to blue after voting Republican in 2016 for the first time in a presidential election since 1988.

"Hopefully, folks will find a rallying point and to me, the rallying point is Trump," he said. "Do you want four more years of this kind of nonsense?"

Biden is Wilson's choice in the primary. "I'm on Biden's horse. I figured that if Biden was good enough for Barack for two terms. He's good enough for me."

Rudy Markoe, a retired Detroit bus driver, may not be up for the door knocking that he used to do back in the day, but he's ready to work for the Democratic candidate in other ways, through his LaSalle Gardens block club and his church, St. Matthew and St. Joseph's Episcopal Church.

He sees one kind of back-handed positive that came from Trump's election that he hopes will contribute to his defeat in November.

"We were on this high of believing that the people...were willing to elect a black man president who was highly qualified. But that's never necessarily been enough," he said. "And then, eight years later, they rushed from this high ground to this low point where Trump is, so it sends all kinds of uneasy kind of feelings as he panders to the most far right groups of people.

"So, at some point I said, well, maybe Trump is necessary. Maybe America needed a wake up call. Maybe all these folks who didn't really understand now see that racism is still real."

As in 2016, Markoe likes Sanders' message of fighting for income equality. As a retired city worker, he suffered through the Detroit bankruptcy in 2013 that continues to take a chunk out of his monthly pension checks. He blames former Gov. Rick Snyder, an Ann Arbor Republican, for the city's bankruptcy and said the Trump tax cut has not benefited him either.

But he also worries about the heart attack Sanders suffered last year and whether a 78-year-old man should be in the race. So he's also intrigued with former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

"It's got to be more than just beat Trump, which is why I would lean towards Bernie and Elizabeth Warren. I think all Americans would benefit if there was a redressing of the economic imbalance in the country," Markoe said. "There's too much influence by the wealthiest people on our government."

In 2016, Melissa El-Jackson, a self-employed attorney, was willing to at least listen to Trump. But an appearance by then-candidate Trump at the Great Faith Ministries International Church in Detroit was enough to push her away from the Republican candidate into Clinton's camp.

"I found him to be disingenuous and I was also a bit taken aback at the support that appeared to be coming from the African American clergy on his behalf," she said, noting the New York lawsuits against him surrounding housing discrimination and his "escapades with women."

While she may not be active in working for political campaigns, she always votes and at the moment is leaning toward U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.

"I like her. She's been able to win in red districts and she's got experience and a platform that can appeal to disgruntled Republicans who want to vote for somebody other than Trump," she said. "Unfortunately, I don't think she's going to make it too far."

Shantae Winfrey, a Detroit mom who is raising her 11-year-old son on her own and was having her hair done Wednesday at Fanta's African Hair Braiding on Gratiot, said she thinks Detroit residents will be more motivated to vote this year because they want Trump removed.

But Winfrey, who said she voted for Clinton in 2016, said she doesn't know who she will vote for in the March 10 primary because she does not know much yet about who is running.

Winfrey works two jobs, as a security guard and a housekeeper. She said she gets paid between $12 and $12.50 an hour and has been having trouble making ends meet and paying her $800 monthly rent.

She blames Trump for cuts in food assistance that she said have reduced her income from that source from $300 monthly to $16 a month. And she's getting hammered on prescription drug bills. A diabetic, Winfrey said she needs to buy two vials of insulin each month, and each vial brings an $80 co-pay.

Political parties try to find winning formula

The disparity in enthusiasm and political engagement among Detroit's voters has both Democrats and Republicans trying to figure out how to court the votes of African Americans in a city where 82% of the population is black and voter turnout can make or break a candidate.

"Before the 2016 election, President Obama made this wonderful speech saying that he may not be on the ballot, but the issues are the same for us," said Daniel Baxter, former director of elections for the city of Detroit.

But Clinton and the Democratic party lost sight of the issues and didn't champion the economic and social strides made during the Obama presidency.

"When we looked at that ballot in 2016, we saw Hillary Clinton as opposed to democratic principles, goals and opportunities. I believe that was the primary challenge in terms of why voter turnout was so low in 2016."

For Republicans, the campaigns know they will never win over a majority of the African American vote, but getting a point or two more in the polls will be enough for Trump's reelection, said Wayne Bradley, a Republican political consultant and founder of American Urban Strategies in Detroit.

"There have been some big wins for the African American community under Trump with the unemployment numbers and criminal justice reform," Bradley said. "Realistically, what the campaign is looking for is 12% (of the African American vote) and I think he could get that high."

Toward that end, the Republican National Committee announced Thursday that it is opening up "Black Voices for Trump" offices in urban cities across the nation, including Detroit, to reach out to minority voters with the "tremendous story" of how Trump's policies have benefited African Americans.

Trump's son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner said, "You're never going to get the votes you don't ask for."

The outreach, he added, "is more than a toe in the water. It's a whole foot in the water."

Some are just plain fed up

Others are less excited about the prospect of months of campaigning ahead. And that's what will kill the Democratic candidate, said Detroit political consultant Mario Morrow.

"Right now, there is no candidate within the Democratic ranks who has captured the heart and soul of African Americans to make them say, 'I'm going to vote,'" he said. "And the primary is right around the corner. Where is the excitement? I think you're going to have low voter turnout in March and that's a tell- tale sign for November."

At George's Flower Shoppe on Vernor in southwest Detroit, florist Johnny Flores said he has not voted in a presidential election since Bill Clinton was in office, and he does not plan to cast a ballot this year, either.

That is despite the fact that Trump's trade policies have hurt his business, he said.

He attributes ongoing tariff battles to sharp increases in the prices of cut flowers, most of which he purchases from Colombia and other countries in South America. He has had to pass on many of the increases to customers, and that has hurt business, he said.

"He made it harder for me to be a florist. Everything went up," Flores said. "I used to sell those for $100," pointing to one floral arrangement in a glass display case. "Now, it's $125."

Flores, who lives in southwest Detroit, said he has mixed views about Trump. Though he supports increased immigration, Flores said he agrees with having strong border controls, keeping criminals out, and making sure immigrants who arrive in the U.S. do so legally.

Asked why he does not vote, Flores said one reason is that he has concerns about the integrity of the process, with the potential for hacking and Russian interference.

And as for the Democratic primary candidates, "I don't like any of them," he said.

Julius Molden, a father of three who works at a dollar store and was waiting for a haircut at James Barber Shop with his 4-year-old son Jaiden, said he feels the system is rigged because, as with what happened in 2016, the winner of the U.S. popular vote does not necessarily become president.

Molden said he voted for Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primary and wrote Sanders' name in on his November 2016 ballot.

He expects he will vote for Sanders again on March 10, though he said he is now skeptical of Sanders' promises on health care and other issues and still wants to learn some more about the other Democratic candidates.

"All politicians are lying," said Molden, who believes health care should be universal and free.

"The fact of the matter is, no matter who the president is, I've got to go to work and take care of my kids."

Tinu Roland, who works for the liberal advocacy group We The People, said she reluctantly voted for Clinton in 2016 and is leaning toward Warren or Sanders in 2020. But she's not a fan of most politicians.

"The misconception is that because we have people who run on a Democratic ticket, that means that they're for us. And that's not necessarily what that means," she said. "People get into office for the glitz and glamour of it and not necessarily the change in people's lives. They lose sight of what their mission really was."

Her antipathy toward politicians, though, will not keep her from the polls.

"I do feel more of an urgency now. Because (Trump) has to go," she said. "Because he's ultimately going to tear our country apart."

Contact Kathleen Gray: 313-223-4430, [email protected] or on Twitter @michpoligal.

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