"I will not rest until Michigan is back," said Romney, a native son who jabbed at his rival for saying many jobs among the thousands lost will never return.,”Republican rivals Mitt Romney and John McCain both promised to revive recession-ravaged Michigan and the auto industry Monday as they campaigned in a presidential primary neither can afford to lose.

"I will not rest until Michigan is back," said Romney, a native son who jabbed at his rival for saying many jobs among the thousands lost will never return.

"We will create new jobs," insisted McCain, who also favors improvements in federal programs for laid-off workers. "We have the innovation, the talent, the knowledge and the ability … to regain Michigan's position as the best in the world."

In contrast to a hard-fought Republican primary, the Democratic race in Michigan existed in name only. But that hardly interfered with the growing testiness in the nationwide battle between Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

Martin Luther King. "We have to bring our party together and our country together."

In the Michigan Republican primary, polls showed McCain and Romney in a close race, with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee running third.

Of the three, Romney is most in need of a victory as he looks to restore at least some of the luster lost with defeats in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary. Several associates have suggested the former Massachusetts governor may quit the race unless he prevails.

McCain won the state's primary eight years ago on the strength of independent voters, and hopes for a reprise on Tuesday. He has regained the lead in the national polls that he enjoyed months ago – before his campaign nearly came apart over the summer.

Huckabee has less at stake in Michigan than either of his two rivals, and hopes to attract votes from those hard-hit by the state's economic troubles, as well as from evangelical Christians, who powered him to victory in the Iowa caucuses.

He, too, campaigned on economic issues during the day.

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