Castro, Booker only candidates to bring up Michigan at 3rd Dem presidential debate

Michigan was a big topic at the last round of Democratic debates in July — just as you’d expect for events held in Detroit.

During the third debate in Houston on Thursday night, however, our state’s stock definitely fell, with only former U.S. House and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) mentioning Michigan.

The event also featured former Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and businessman Andrew Yang.

Castro referred to the Mitten State in his opening statement — the first one of the night — along with a slew of other states after he assured the audience that “there will be life after [President] Donald Trump.”

“But first, we have to win,” Castro added. “And that means exciting a young, diverse coalition of Americans who are ready for a bold future. That’s what [John F.] Kennedy did; it’s what [Jimmy] Carter did; it’s what [Bill] Clinton did; it’s what Barack Obama did — and it’s what I can do in this race. Get back Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, Florida, Georgia and Arizona, and finally turn Texas blue and say goodbye to Donald Trump.”

Booker raised the Flint water crisis, something that Castro, author Marianne Williamson and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio discussed at the Detroit debates in July.

“If you’ve talked to someone who’s a parent of a child has had permanent brain damage because of lead, you’ll know this is a national problem, because there’s over 3,000 jurisdictions in America where children have more than twice the blood lead levels of Flint, Mich.,” Booker said on Thursday.

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During the first night of the Detroit debates, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) hit Sanders over his Medicare for All health plan for harming union workers in Michigan, something the U.S. senator strongly denied. Sanders also bragged about winning the 2016 Michigan Democratic primary and Ryan said he visited immigrant children in Grand Rapids earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Warren touted the impact of her green manufacturing plan in Michigan. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) name-checked Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her infrastructure plan. Buttigieg was asked about worker retraining in light of a General Motors plant closing in Warren and he talked about commonalities with his hometown of South Bend. Former U.S. Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) said Detroit was almost “destroyed” by bad trade policy.

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On night two in Detroit, Yang talked about automation in Detroit and how his universal basic income plan would help city residents. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who has since dropped out, noted Detroit’s most polluted ZIP code, 48217, which he visited.

Plenty of candidates made the case that they could win Michigan and noted their visits to the state, including Biden and U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) who also ended her campaign. Booker talked about African American voter suppression in Michigan and touted his family ties in Detroit.

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And in the first debates in Miami, it was Yang, Ryan and Klobuchar who played the Michigan card.