News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Michigan Republican Party Chairwoman Laura Cox visited Alpena on Monday to help fire up voters and supporters of President Donald Trump and other Republican candidates in the 2020 election. She said she believes Trump’s base has grown and the state will help him win another term.

ALPENA — The battle for Michigan’s 16 electoral votes, which will help determine who the next president will be, is well under way, even in Northeast Michigan.

On Monday, Michigan Republican Party Chairwoman Laura Cox made a stop in Alpena to fire up supporters of President Donald Trump and other Republican candidates. The party hopes to repeat its 2016 performance, when Republicans in Michigan were successful from the top of the ballot down.

Cox, speaking to a crowd at the Twin Acres 19th Hole restaurant, said the party and its candidates are in for a battle from the Democrats, but are up to the challenge and hopeful they can not only help push Trump to reelection, but also regain the majority of the U.S. House of Representatives and increase the GOP majority in the Senate.

She said that, if Trump does well in the state, it would help other candidates such as John James, who will run against Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Gary Peters. It also could help Republican incumbents U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, state Rep. Sue Allor, R-Wolverine, and local Republican candidates, as well.

Cox’s Alpena visit came on the same day a New York Times poll showed Trump — battered in national polls amid an impeachment inquiry in the House — is actually running neck-and-neck with former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden in six battleground states that gave him the presidency in 2016, including Michigan.

Cox said that, although the election is nearly a year away, the fight for Michigan is already taking place and the GOP is in prime position to come out on top.

“I think we are building on the base that we had in 2016, and I believe the reason why is because he has a track record of successes that has won voters over,” Cox said. “It has made people excited, energized, and willing to roll up their sleeves and work to get him reelected.”

Cox said there is also a chance that support for Trump could be even larger than what the party realizes. She said it is possible that there are many voters who support the president but don’t show it out of fear they could be harassed or chastised by those who oppose Trump and his platform.

“We believe that really strongly,” she said.

While traveling around the state, Cox said the party has found many people who didn’t vote in the 2018 election — when Democrats reclaimed control of the U.S. House and did well in Michigan, winning all three elected seats of the state’s executive branch — but did vote in 2016. She said communicating with those voters and getting them back to the ballot box is critical and a main objective.

“We have identified 422,000 voters across the state who didn’t vote in 2018 and 85% of them come from counties that elected President Trump,” she said. “We want to reach out to them, whether they are Republican or independent, and make sure they get back out and vote again. We firmly believe if we get them to the polls, we’ll deliver Michigan again for the president.”

Cox said she expects the Republican ground game to be as good or better than it was in 2016. She said that, though the election is many months away, the party has 22 party members working in the state and has trained 2,200 volunteers ready to knock on doors, work events, and help draw supporters to the polls not only for Trump, but for local and state candidates, as well.

“These are the people who are fighting back against the policies of the three women in charge of the state right now, which is the governor, the secretary of state, and the attorney general,” Cox said, referring to Democrats Gretchen Whitmer, Jocelyn Benson, and Dana Nessel, respectively.

Cox said she believes the party will be able to have a large group of supporters from independents and Democrats who are more moderate. She said she also believes there will be more Millennials and first-time voters from Generation Z who will lean to the right and not the more liberal, socialist ideas being proposed by some of the presidential candidates on the left.

“I think they will realize who the tax man is and will be very daunting and that government is in the way of them being successful,” Cox said. “I think it is going to click for them.”

The event was attended by about 80 people, who were the first to RSVP for the event. Cox said she will continue her tour of the state, firing up the base, recruiting new voters and promoting the party and its candidates.

“The president knows he needs to win Michigan and we know he will fight hard with us to keep it,” she said.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.