Michigan will play a key role in the 2004 presidential race, with Pres. George Bush and Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry both vying for the Rust Belt state's 17 electoral votes. Both candidates are making frequent campaign stops in the state, along with airing campaign ads on television. Then Vice-President Al Gore won the state by seven percentage points over George Bush in 2000.

Kerry's allies in this down-on-its-luck industrial state are armed with depressing statistics on unemployment and poverty, hoping to persuade voters to blame Bush for the economic problems.

One top ally is Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm. She's campaigning on behalf of Kerry and even used the Democrats' weekly radio address to blame the Bush administration for the loss of manufacturing jobs in Michigan and around the nation.

Granholm became the state's first female governor with her win in 2002. Then the Attorney General, Granholm defeated Republican Lt. Gov. Dick Posthumus.

Fourteen of the 15 U.S. House members filed for re-election. Rep. Nick Smith, R-Addison, had decided to step down after serving 12 years in Congress. His son, attorney Brad Smith, lost in the Republican primary to John "Joe" Schwarz. Schwarz, the 66-year-old former state senator will run against organic farmer Sharon Renier. Schwarz first ran for the 7th District seat in 1992 but lost to Nick Smith in the primary.

Dem. Rep. John Conyers had been the state's only incumbent congressman facing a challenge from within his own party until state Sen. Buzz Thomas announced plans to withdraw from the race. Conyers has served in the U.S. House since 1964 and is the top-ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. He missed more votes in the first seven months of 2003 than any other House lawmaker except U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Mo.

The House ethics committee has been looking into allegations that Conyers improperly used congressional staff to work on election campaigns, including his wife's bid for a state Senate seat in Michigan. Conyers' wife, Monica, ran against Thomas _ the would-be challenger to Conyers himself _ in the 2002 Senate primary.

The committee also has investigated outgoing Republican Rep. Nick Smith's allegation that GOP colleagues tried to bribe him to vote for a Medicare bill. The committee conducted a two-month inquiry before deciding to open an investigation in the Smith case.

The father of slain child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey lost his bid for a state House seat, finishing a close second in the GOP primary despite widespread media coverage of his campaign. John Ramsey finished about 500 votes behind attorney Kevin Elsenheimer in the rural northern Michigan district.

A cloud of suspicion has hung over Ramsey and his wife since the 1997 slaying of 6-year-old JonBenet, but no one has ever been charged. The district attorney and a federal judge in Colorado have said it is likelier that an intruder was responsible, as the parents insist.

Ramsey did not shy away from the JonBenet issue on the campaign trail, and the notoriety of the case helped give him nearly 100 percent name recognition in the district.