News Guide: Eyes on Michigan as 4 states make 2016 choices

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michigan was front and center Tuesday as voters in four states weighed in on the 2016 presidential race, testing Donald Trump's staying power at the top of the Republican pack and Bernie Sanders' narrowing chances to sideline Hillary Clinton's march to the Democratic nomination.

[...] because there are a few counties in that state's upper peninsula in the Central time zone, it will be 9 p.m. EST before voting ends there.

According to early results of exit polls conducted by Edison Research for The Associated Press and television networks Tuesday, at least 8 in 10 voters in each primary said they are very or somewhat worried about where the economy is headed.

More than half of Democratic and Republican voters in Michigan, along with Republicans in Mississippi, say trade takes jobs.

In Mississippi, Democratic primary voters are more closely divided on the subject, with 4 in 10 saying it takes away jobs and nearly as many thinking it has a positive impact.

All GOP contests so far have been proportional, divvying up delegates among the contenders (with some extra allocation rules added to make it really complicated).

Cruz, the conservative firebrand, has put up the toughest fight against Trump, staying within range in the delegate hunt and aiming to become the last challenger standing against the billionaire if Rubio and Kasich can't win their home states March 15.

Michigan, as well as Missouri next week, should offer clues about whether Sanders is making any progress in expanding his base of support beyond his devoted followers in the under-30 crowd, and making any progress with black voters, who have overwhelmingly favored Clinton.

In the last Democratic debate, in Flint, Michigan, Clinton hit Sanders hard for opposing a 2009 bill that provided billions to rescue the auto industry.

Should Trump win the GOP nomination, his path to the presidency could be through the Rust Belt.

Michigan offers a window into the industrial Midwest as Trump reaches out for the economically disaffected and the angry with a message that has engaged Republican voters more broadly than the party and his rivals expected.

None of the Republican candidates made the long trip to campaign for the small delegate prize in Hawaii's GOP caucuses.

"If candidates are looking to win over the state, then I think they need to be a little bit more open to diversity and a little more centrist about their approach," Beth Fukumoto-Chang, Republican leader in the state House, said recently.