One of the major candidates who seemed the most comfortable addressing Michigan’s issues was Mitt Romney, said Bill Ballenger, editor and publisher of Inside Michigan Politics.

“On the economy in Michigan, most of the candidates weren’t able to show the relevance of Michigan,” said Leo Madarang, political theory senior and chairman for MSU Students for Mitt Romney.

Romney’s focus on health care and his experience and knowledge of running a business is relative to helping the national economy, Madarang said.

“Michigan is undergoing a one state recession — this is unacceptable,” said Romney, a Michigan native.

Investing in technology, establishing ties between the president and the auto industry and fixing Detroit schools were solutions for fixing Michigan’s economic problems, Romney said.

Most of the candidates agreed that bypassing Congress would be necessary if the threat of Iran’s nuclear program became more imminent.

All of the candidates agreed the U.S. needs to utilize and research alternative energy and renewable sources.

“Iran would be more of a paper tiger if we were more energy efficient,” said Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City.

At minimum the president should consult with Congressional leaders about military action against Iran, said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. The senator also warned the threat of Iran was much closer to reality than the debate was that night.

“The Republican party has the best whole numbers and strongest position with American people on national security and defense,” Ballenger said. “If they said anything different like we will confer with Congress and let Congress give us permission, number one, Republican voters wouldn’t have liked that.”