Thunderous applause and a standing ovation greeted McCain, a U.S. Senator from Arizona, before he even spoke a word at the 8 a.m. town hall meeting. Today, voters statewide go to the polls for the presidential primary that will help decide the GOP nominee. McCain still is trying to dethrone Texas Gov. George W. Bush from his front-runner status. Michigan is seen by some analysts as a must-win for McCain to stay in contention.
Polls show the two candidates in a virtual dead heat in the primary, which is open to all voters.
The Arizona primary also is today. From the beginning of the town hall meeting, the target of McCain's efforts was clear. During his remarks to the Traverse City audience, McCain outlined his views on veteran's issues, foreign policy, pork-barrel spending and campaign finance reform. Now, when I started this campaign, they said there was no room for campaign finance reform in our party. I made room for it.