warren, mich.<u+2014>michigan delivered a crucial victory to donald trump tuesday, with the presidential candidate<u+2019>s criticism of offshoring of manufacturing jobs helping him become the first republican to carry the great lakes state since 1988. mr. trump and democratic challenger hillary clinton spent considerable time in the rust belt state in the closing days of the presidential election, as michigan<u+2019>s race became tighter than initially expected. the new york businessman crisscrossed the state, hammering a proworker message designed to secure a win. mr. trump won all but eight of michigan<u+2019>s 83 counties. macomb county, a suburb of detroit with many working-class, white voters, gave mr. trump 53.6% of the vote. but mr. trump lost by a large margin in wayne county, where detroit is located. mrs. clinton won there with 66.8% of the vote<u+2014>as well as in washtenaw county, home to the university of michigan, where mrs. clinton won with 68.4% of the vote. michigan, home to the motor city and a birthplace of reagan democrats, has lost some of its jobs to lower-cost countries, particularly as the auto industry restructured over the past 15 years. while car-assembly jobs have returned to the u.s. since the financial crisis, those jobs pay far less than the traditionally high wages of auto workers; many of the new auto jobs were added by nondomestic auto makers operating in southern states. mr. trump has taken aim at several u.s. companies moving certain operations to mexico, including dearborn, mich.-based ford motor co. , and vowed to enact costly tariffs on products they want to bring back to the u.s. he has also committed to renegotiating the north american free trade agreement, long unpopular in michigan, and criticized the trans-pacific partnership. michigan has a large share of white, working-class voters who have in recent national elections favored democratic candidates that garner support from union officials, including the united auto workers, which represents many of the state<u+2019>s blue-collar workers. david dulio, chair of the political science department at oakland university in rochester hills, mich., said mr. trump<u+2019>s appeal to this group<u+2014>along with big margins on the west side of the state<u+2014>likely fueled mr. trump. university of michigan political science professor nick valentino said the proposal to tear up nafta appealed to critical counties. the state<u+2019>s population consists evenly of men and women, and it is 80% white, according to the most recent census data in 2015. motor vehicle manufacturing accounts for tens of thousands of jobs in the state, according to data from the bureau of labor statistics. auto-parts manufacturing provides 125,400 jobs. michigan<u+2019>s dependence on the auto industry and manufacturing jobs has been in the political spotlight before. ahead of the 2008 election, with detroit<u+2019>s big three running out of money, assembly plants were packed as candidates routinely visited and talked about the need to retain jobs. president barack obama <u+2019>s $85 billion bailout of general motors co. , chrysler and other auto companies kept those firms in business, but workers have been slow to recover. industry wages have been flat, and michigan<u+2019>s auto-assembly footprint is a shadow of its former self. bob roughton, a 68-year old president of a data-networks company in lake orion, mich., parked his vehicle on the side of a busy road near a general motors co. assembly plant tuesday afternoon and put up a trump sign. he said he<u+2019>d had many such signs stolen in recent weeks and was working to drum up last-minute support for a candidate he had supported since the early days of the 2016 election. <u+201c>the embedded base is just too corrupt,<u+201d> mr. roughton said, referring to republican and democrat lawmakers in both state and national politics. higher taxes and fees for gasoline and other services and products are among recent decisions in michigan that have bothered mr. roughton and increased the appeal of mr. trump. larry martin, voting in nearby oakland township tuesday, said mr. trump represents a needed <u+201c>change in politics.<u+201d> mr. martin, 63 years old and retired from his career in maintenance work at several local businesses and organizations, said mrs. clinton <u+201c>does not represent the people who think the way we do.<u+201d> walking his dog outside near the end of his driveway in auburn hills, mich., jake saylor cited mr. trump<u+2019>s plan to secure borders from illegal immigrants and keeping jobs from moving to mexico as reasons for support. a longtime master mechanic at local car dealerships in metro detroit, mr. saylor said relatives working for auto suppliers, including lear corp. , have talked about the speed with which jobs are flowing out of the u.s. <u+201c>look at ford,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>they just moved some of their work to mexico.<u+201d> but not every automotive employee bought mr. trump<u+2019>s message. rob menczywor, a 39-year-old gm employee working at a technical center in warren, mich., said mr. trump<u+2019>s policies won<u+2019>t work. <u+201c>i<u+2019>m voting against him more than anything else,<u+201d> he said. bruce schoen, a retired unionized police officer from warren, said he never voted republican until mr. trump. mr. schoen, 67, said mr. trump is far from perfect, but his ideas resonated with voters looking for a candid and blunt approach. write to john d. stoll at john.stoll@wsj.com
donald trump<u+2019>s promise of bringing back jobs worked with many michigan voters  - wsj
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