As Republican convention comes to a close in Milwaukee, Republicans turn to Michigan

Michigan will be the first campaign stop for the Trump campaign this weekend after the Republican convention wraps up in Milwaukee this week, highlighting the importance of this battleground state, known politically for Arabs and Muslims, autoworkers' labour unions, and rural poverty.

On Saturday, Donald Trump, boosted by his new vice presidential running mate J.D. Vance, a son of the Rustbelt, will hold a rally in western Michigan, where they hope to reclaim the state that the former president won in an upset victory against Hillary Clinton in 2016, but narrowly lost to Joe Biden in 2020.

In his speech Wednesday night, Vance repeatedly named the Rustbelt states, saying he wouldn't let the people get left behind, as they have been by the political elite, including Biden, who he noted supported the North American Free Trade Agreement and the 2003 war in Iraq.

At one point, as the crowd was chanting Ohio, Vance's home state, he asked them to "chill on Ohio" because "we gotta win Michigan."

Indeed, Michigan would be a major prize for either party, and could determine the outcome of the 2024 election.

The importance of the state is not lost on Michigan delegate Tim Walenga from Grand Rapids, where Trump will be holding his first post-convention rally.

"Michigan is very important. We're a swing state. There was tremendous support for Trump in 2016, and we fell a little short in 2020," he told The New Arab, as he was waiting in line at a book signing for Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

"We have a lot of momentum moving forward. I really believe we're going to be a key player in this election," he said, stressing that they're boosting all of their previous strategies, including more rallies and phone calls. "We have more organisation in our ground game and getting the vote out."

He believes Vance will be an asset to Trump's ticket, given his rural Midwestern roots and his personal story of perseverance and overcoming poverty.

"I think he adds to the ticket, especially in the Midwestern states," he said. "He's got quite a story. I think people are going to start to learn more about him. It's an incredible story. He had a very, very rough childhood. He was able to come through that, and at 39 years old, he was able to become the VP nominee. That's pretty awesome."

Walenga recalls that in 2016, before Trump won, Republicans in Michigan weren't well-organised and many people didn't take it seriously at first.

"The ground game wasn't set up. They didn't have a good way to track the voters. We really struggled in '16 in that manner, but as '20 came along, we were able to get the signs out better," he said.

"I think we learned from the past," he said. "Now in 2024, we have Trump 47, which is a network to have people get other people out to vote." He says this strategy includes more offices throughout the state, more signs and more literature.

In addition to his red baseball cap, Walenga was wearing a variety of buttons, one of which read "Amash no, tariffs yes" - in reference to the US Senate candidate Justin Amash (a Palestinian American who previously served as a US Representative) and Trump's support for tariffs. Amash was the only Republican who voted to impeach Trump.

As for the Arab and Muslim voters, mainly located on the other side of Michigan from Walenga, he's aware of the discontent with Biden's policy on Israel in its war in Gaza however he doesn't know if this will translate to votes for Trump.

"They're definitely upset with many of the things that are going on right now, and I don't know if that means a vote for Trump, but it may be a no vote for Biden," he said.

He's also unsure if the Democrats replacing Biden this late in the electoral process due to health concerns will help them.

"It's really quite late in the game to do something like that," he said. "Let's say they wait three or four weeks and bring in someone else, bring in a new nominee in August, is that gonna help them in the general? It seems to me like it would hurt them more than help."

For now, he says he main focus is on getting out the Republican votes in Michigan, something he acknowledges will be a major challenge with a strong contingency of blue counties, and with a Democratic governor, House and Senate.

"We have to fight back," he said.