*

Trump appeals to Muslim voters in Michigan, pledges peace

in the

Middle East

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Obama joins Harris on stage with emphasis on abortion

rights

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Michigan's early voting sees 19.5% turnout, mostly

absentee

ballots

By James Oliphant, Trevor Hunnicutt

NOVI/KALAMAZOO, Michigan, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Republican

Donald Trump appealed to Muslim voters in Michigan on Saturday

as Michelle Obama made an impassioned plea on behalf of Kamala

Harris at the Democrat's own rally in the battleground state.

In Michigan, Harris and Trump are battling for voters that

include an Arab American and Muslim population concerned about

Israel's bombardment of Gaza, and union workers worried about

how electric vehicles could reshape the U.S. auto industry,

which is headquartered in Detroit, the state's largest city.

Election Day is Nov. 5 but early voting was under way in

Michigan, as it is many states.

Speaking at a rally outside Detroit, Trump said he had just

met with group of local imams, arguing that he deserved the

support of Muslim voters because he would end conflicts and

bring peace to the Middle East.

"That's all they want," Trump said in the Detroit suburb of

Novi, also pledging to auto workers at the rally that he would

reverse economic decline in the Detroit area and nationwide.

Trump fully backs Israel but has not said how he would end the

conflict there.

Even so, Trump appears to be gaining support from some

Muslim Americans upset with President Joe Biden's and Harris'

support of Israel, and despite Trump banning immigration from

some Muslim majority countries in his first term as president.

Imam Belal Alzuhairi of the Islamic Center of Detroit

joined Trump on stage, saying, "We ask Muslims to stand with

President Trump because he promises peace."

With some 8.4 million registered voters and 15 electoral college

votes of the 270 needed to win, Michigan is one of seven

competitive U.S. states that will decide the election. It is

part of the "Blue Wall" that is considered Democrats' best

chance of electing Harris, along with Pennsylvania and

Wisconsin.

OBAMA TAKES THE STAGE

In the southern Michigan city of Kalamazoo, about 130 miles

(210 km) away, Harris drew contrasts between her and Trump on

issues such as abortion rights, taxes and healthcare.

But first Obama, the popular wife of former President Barack

Obama, fired up the crowd by drawing distinctions between the

two candidates on personal character and qualifications, saying

there was a double standard in how Trump and Harris were being

treated.

"I hope you'll forgive me that I'm a little frustrated that

some of us are choosing to ignore Trump's gross incompetence

while asking Kamala to dazzle us at every turn," the former

first lady said, urging any undecided voters to "snap out of

whatever fog they're in."

Obama also addressed women's health at length, saying Trump

has failed to demonstrate understanding of its complexity and

that his vows to rescind the Affordable Care Act passed during

her husband's presidency would affect the "entirety of women's

health, all of it."

"We as women will become collateral damage to your rage,"

she said, later introducing Harris to an animated crowd.

Harris was several minutes into an upbeat address when she

was interrupted by a demonstrator who repeatedly yelled, "No

more Gaza war."

After Harris supporters shouted down the interruption, Harris

responded, "On the topic of Gaza, we must end that war," then

picked up where she left off, asking voters to "turn the page on

the fear and the divisiveness."

"Over the last eight years, Donald Trump has become more

confused, more unstable and more angry, and it is clear he has

become increasingly unhinged. But the last time, at least there

were people who could control him, but notice they're not with

him this time," Harris said.

Ahead of the rally, Harris met with women medical providers in

Portage, Michigan, where she said the country was in a

healthcare crisis following the 2022 ruling by the U.S. Supreme

Court that overturned Roe v. Wade, which had guaranteed a

women's right to abortion nationwide.

Harris heard from six women medical providers who described

being inundated by patients from other regions due to a lack of

reproductive healthcare in their areas since Roe was overturned.

After leaving Michigan, Trump traveled to Pennsylvania,

where he tried to reel in young voters with a rally on the

campus of Penn State University, at one point bringing the

school's wrestling team on stage with him.

"We have to finish it off with a big victory on Nov. 5," he

said.

POLLS SHOW TIGHT RACE

Harris is leading Trump nationally by a marginal 46% to 43%, a

recent Reuters/Ipsos poll showed. In Michigan, Harris leads by

even less - 47.6% to 47.1%, according to opinion poll aggregator

FiveThirtyEight.

Since the 2020 election, Michigan has instituted early in-person

voting for the first time and begun permitting jurisdictions

with more than 5,000 people to begin processing and tabulating

mail ballots eight days before the Nov. 5 Election Day.

So far, 19.5% of registered voters in Michigan, or nearly

1.42 million people, have voted, Michigan's State Department

said on Friday. Only 10,900 were in-person early votes, while

the rest were returned absentee ballots.