For decades, Republicans dominated politics in Michigan's wealthiest and second most populous county. But while the party still holds sway for offices like county executive, sheriff and county clerk, at the top of their ballots voters have picked Democrats -- beginning with Al Gore in 2000, then Jennifer Granholm in 2002 and John Kerry in 2004.

This year, Republicans are determined to reverse the trend. DeVos has eight full-time campaign staff and three field offices in Oakland County. He also picked Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson as his running mate. The Republican nominee for U.S. Senate is Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard. Bouchard and Johnson won big in their last elections.

Democrats aren't watching idly. Granholm has opened three Oakland County offices and plans a fourth, knowing that the county's many moderate Republicans were a key factor in her first victory.

Both parties will target fence-sitters like Friedman, who says he was a Democrat as a younger man but leans more Republican lately. But they'll also focus on making sure their base supporters actually vote.

At halftime, the Andover High School band, in orange-and-white uniforms and playing a medley of James Bond themes, provided some relaxation for Cheryl Arnold, 48, a grocery store cashier from Auburn Hills.

She worries about the Iraq war as she contemplates the future of her 17-year-old son, Josh, a co-captain and defensive tackle for the Avondale Yellow Jackets.

Military recruiters keep calling Josh, trying to get him to enlist when he graduates from high school next year. After losing her mother, Ann Beamish, last year when the tour boat Ethan Allen capsized on Lake George in New York, Arnold is even more adamant about keeping her family close.

In Oakland County, ticket splitters have become the rule, said John Klemanski, a political science professor at Oakland University in Auburn Hills.

Recent Oakland votes for top-of-ticket Democrats coincide with some population shifting. Black Detroiters who generally vote Democratic have been moving to Oakland communities, looking for better schools, lower taxes and insurance rates and less crime.

In the 1980s and 1990s, African Americans tended to move to communities such as Southfield, Oak Park and Auburn Hills, said Kurt Metzger, a demographer for the United Way of Southeast Michigan. But now people with more money are choosing addresses in places such as Farmington Hills, West Bloomfield and Troy.

"You can't guarantee that upper-income blacks aren't going to go Republican," said Metzger. "The important color is green. When you start making it, you may start changing your political views."

Curt Doster, 38, an African-American banker who lives in Troy, generally votes Democratic and is leaning toward Granholm but wants to see the upcoming debates before he decides who gets his vote.

"I definitely want to see some action plans from them," said Doster, who watched as Avondale, with help from his son Curt Jr., a wide receiver, beat Andover 15-9. "I don't pay attention to the ads. I just want to see the debates. The more debates the better."

She was laid off from auto supplier Arvin Meritor, and may give up her real estate license because the housing market is so slow. She processes orders for a Rochester Hills plumbing shop that is merging with a shop in Grand Blanc because business is depressed.

Her husband's job as an auto parts designer was transferred to Auburn Hills from Marshall three years ago. Their home took three years to sell at a loss.

She attends college two nights a week working on a business administration degree. "But there's nothing left to administer," said Taylor, who proudly wore a purple-and-yellow jersey bearing her son Evan's number 64.

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