Clinton underscores her support for a Michigan primary revote

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton stopped in Detroit today for a hurriedly-arranged speech meant to highlight her support for a “do-over” primary election in Michigan.

Stripped of its delegates by the Democratic National Committee for rescheduling its primary from March to January, Michigan, like Florida, has weighed options to recover its votes. State legislators begin a two-week Easter recess on Friday, and insiders say a June 3 makeup election – funded with private donations and requiring legislative approval – is now unlikely.

Clinton, hoping to spark renewed interest in the plan, called on rival Illinois Sen. Barack Obama to endorse the idea.

“Sen. Obama speaks passionately on the campaign trail about empowering the American people,” she said. “Today I’m urging him to match those words with action.”

Obama and other candidates took their names off the Michigan ballot after the DNC punished the state. Clinton won 55% of the vote, compared with 40% for “uncommitted.” Blaming Obama for opposing a revote, Clinton said: “This is a crucial test. Does he mean what he says or not?”

Arguing that Democrats cannot win in November unless they carry both Michigan and Florida, the New York senator said that if the two states are shut out of the primary, Republicans will court their voters in November, and the Democratic agenda of ending the war, giving all Americans healthcare insurance and revitalizing the economy will be imperiled.

“We need your voices and we have a right to your votes,” she said. “The stakes could not be bigger.”

With the two Democrats locked in a tight contest, both candidates are playing to the party and elected officials known as superdelegates, who could decide the nomination. The Clinton campaign argues that it can win big, industrial states such as Michigan in the fall, and that Obama’s victories are in states likely to vote Republican in the fall. But, according to Associated Press estimates, Obama is currently ahead in pledged delegates and raw vote totals.

johanna.neuman@latimes.com