CQ Voting Studies are an annual analysis of a member's support or opposition to a given position. Interest Group Ratings are based on rankings from groups chosen to represent liberal, conservative, business and labor viewpoints.Voting Participation scores are based on the number of times a member voted "yea" or "nay" on roll call votes (not including quorum calls in the House). CQ Vote Studies Year Presidential Support Party Unity   S* O* S O 1998 60% 39% 66% 32% 1997 45 55 60 38 1996 70 28 68 31 1995 53 44 71 28 1994 64 36 68 30 1993 61 37 74 23 S=Support; O=Oppose
Voting Participation Year % 1998 98 1997 97 1996 99 1995 98 1994 98 1993 97	Interest Groups Year ADA AFL-CIO CCUS ACU 1998 90% n/a 50% 40 % 1997 50 88 60 64 1996 45 82 60 47 1995 70 83 63 52 1994 50 78 67 43 1993 65 100 36 42
Note on Interest Groups: ADA=Americans for Democratic Action; AFL-CIO=American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations; CCUS=Chamber of Commerce of the United States; ACU=American Conservative Union

MICHIGAN 5 : East - Saginaw; Bay City

The 5th includes the 220 miles of shoreline along Lake Huron that form the Michigan Thumb. The district's population is concentrated in Saginaw, a small manufacturing hub, and Bay City, still a thriving port on Saginaw Bay. The 5th also takes in some of the working-class suburbs north of Flint. Although the district's industrial base includes plastics and sugar refining, the cities depend almost exclusively on General Motors auto parts plants, making the United Auto Workers union a formidable political force.

Union voters, however, are balanced by rural constituents in the district's northern counties and far reaches of the Thumb. The 5th has some of the most productive navy bean and sugar beet fields in the state. Sanilac County, at the base of the Thumb, leads Michigan in dairy production.

Democrats have a several-point registration lead, but it takes a conservative Democrat to win the 5th. A heavy presence of auto manufacturers makes Saginaw a Democratic stronghold. The district's blue-collar voters lean toward populist stances on economics, and rural voters hold conservative views on social issues, opposing both abortion and gun control. As a whole, the 5th supports Democrats in national elections but goes for Republicans locally.

Major Industry
Auto parts manufacturing, agriculture, sugar processing

Population
580,981 (1990)

Cities
Saginaw, 65,014; Bay City, 36,548 (1996)

People
46% urban, 51% rural; 13% age 65+ (ranks fourth of 16 in state; middle third nationally); 60% married couples, 28% married couples with children; 11% college educated (ranks 16 of 16 in state; bottom third nationally); 48% white collar (ranks 16 of 16 in state; bottom third nationally), 34% blue collar (ranks second of 16 in state; top third nationally) (1990)

Race
89% white, 8% black, 0% Asian; 3% Hispanic origin (1990)

Median Household Income
$26,312 (ranks 12 of 16 in state; middle third nationally) (1990)

Unusual Features
Famous natives: Stevie Wonder (Saginaw), Madonna (Bay City); Monitor Sugar Co. in Bay City, largest sugar refinery east of the Mississippi River; Bay City once known as the "Lumber Capital of the World," with more than 50 lumber mills.

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