During the last seven months of the campaign (April 10, 2012 to Nov. 6, 2012 >), the candidates and their spouses made a scattering of visits to Michigan.  The last visit by a Democratic principal was Jill Biden's trip in mid-September; the Romney campaign continued visits into October—Paul Ryan (Oct. 8) and Ann Romney (Oct. 12 and 29).  According to a Democratic operative the purpose of these visits was not winning the state, but rather a) satisfying donors who had contributed so much to Romney's campaign (a total of $10.2 million according to the FEC >) and b) a desire to avoid a repeat of 2008 when the McCain campaign confirmed a month before Election Day, on October 2, that it was shifting resources out of the state.

THE DEMOCRATS
President Barack Obama
April 18
-Fundraiser at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI ($250 per person). ($)
-Fundraiser at the home of Denise Ilitch and Jim Scalici in Bingham Farms, MI (about 47 people/$10,000 per person). ($)

Vice President Joe Biden
September 3  ...overnight Sept. 2 in Detroit, MI.
-Remarks at the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO Labor Day Rally in Detroit, MI.

August 22  ...overnight Aug. 21 in Detroit, MI.
-Fundraiser at the Hecker-Smiley mansion on Woodward Ave. in Detroit, MI. ($)
-Campaign event at Renaissance High School in Detroit, MI.
-Fundraiser at the Shenandoah Country Club in West Bloomfield, MI. ($)

July 29 - With Dr. Jill Biden addresses the American Federation of Teachers 2012 Convention at Cobo Center in Detroit, MI.

Dr. Jill Biden
September 15
-Canvass kickoff at the OFA-MI office at 345 Fuller Ave., NE in Grand Rapids, MI.
-Grassroots event at Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, MI.
-OFA-MI office opening at 590 W. Columbia Ave. in Battle Creek, MI.


THE REPUBLICANS
Former Gov. Mitt Romney
*August 24 - Romney and Ryan hold a Victory rally at Long Family Orchard Farm and Cider Mill in Commerce, MI.

June 19-20
June 19 Day five of “Every Town Counts” five-day, six-state bus tour:
-Small business roundtable followed by rally at the Bavarian Inn Lodge in Frankenmuth, MI.
-Drops by the Sweetie-licious Bakery Café in DeWitt, MI.
-Grassroots rally at Holland State Park in Holland, MI.
June 20
-Lunch reception fundraiser at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids, MI. ($)
-Evening reception fundraiser at the Marriott in Troy, MI. ($)

May 8 - Event, introduced by Gov. Rick Snyder, at the Lansing Community College's Dart Auditorium in Lansing, MI.

Paul Ryan
October 8 - Victory rally at Oakland University, Athletics Center O'rena in Rochester, MI.

August 24
*Romney and Ryan hold a Victory rally at Long Family Orchard Farm and Cider Mill in Commerce, MI.
-Dinner fundraising reception with Kid Rock at the Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, MI. ($)

Ann Romney
October 29
-Event at the Park Place Hotel in Traverse City, MI.
-Event at Kent Victory Center (725 Lake Michigan Drive Northwest) in Grand Rapids, MI.

October 12
-Victory event at the Pinnacle Center in Hudsonville, MI.
-Drops by Franklin Cider Mill in Bloomfield Hills, MI.

July 20 - Attends opening of the Victory center on Woodward Ave. in Royal Oak, MI.cancels following the shootings in Aurora, CO.


Visits by third party candidates after their nominating conventions.
THE LIBERTARIANS
no visits noted.  See ballot access problem, below.

THE GREENS
Cheri Honkala
October 28
-Evening rally with local candidates and supporters of grassroots initiatives at the International Institute in Detroit, MI.



Gary Johnson Kept Off Ballot
Gary Johnson ended up as a write-in candidate due to Michigan's "sore loser" law, MCL 168.695, which states, "No person whose name was printed or placed on the primary ballots or voting machines as a candidate for nomination on the primary ballots of 1 political party shall be eligible as a candidate of any other political party at the election following that primary."  He missed by three minutes removing his name from the Feb. 28, 2012 Republican primary ballot.  On June 25, 2012 he and the Libertarian Party of Michigan filed suit in U.S. District Court seeking to have the law struck down as unconstitutional.  In the "you've got to be kidding" category, if the suit failed the Libertarian Party had as a backup an individual named Gary E. Johnson of Austin, Texas to whom they wanted to pledge their electors.  Both the suit and the backup plan failed; the party qualified Johnson, the former governor, as a write-in candidate and he attained 7,774 votes (0.16 percent).
(See: press release, correspondence [PDF via Talking Points Memo] and article)


No Voter ID Law
Quite a few states adopted voter ID laws prompting progressives to charge voter suppression.  Michigan was not one of those states.  In July 2012 Gov. Rick Snyder (R) declined to sign voter ID legislation into law stating it could "could create voter confusion among absentee voters." (+).


Newspaper Endorsements (Sample)

Obama	Romney
Detroit Free Press (Oct. 28, 2012) + Kalamazoo Gazette (Oct. 19, 2012) + Muskegon Chronicle (Oct. 19, 2012) +	Daily Tribune [Oakland Co.] (Oct. 12, 2012) + Detroit News (Oct. 25, 2012) + Grand Rapids Press (Oct. 24, 2012) +