As expected, with 11% of the precincts reporting, Kerry has a large lead over his competitors, taking in 56% of the votes counted in Michigan thus far. John Edwards, at 15%, barely edges out Howard Dean at 14%, although it's possible neither of them will be guaranteed pledged delegates.

In related news, Dean's campaign took another body blow today when union giant AFSCME withdrew its endorsement of Dean, according to Democratic Party officials:

Howard Dean (news - web sites), shut out in the primary season to date, suffered a fresh blow when the head of a major union decided to withdraw his support. Democratic officials said Gerald McEntee, head of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, delivered the news to the former front-runner during a meeting in Burlington, Vt.

I'm not aware of any such withdrawal of an endorsement before; normally an endorsement of a losing candidate in the primary is simply not mentioned and the endorsement is transferred to the nominee. Either Dean said or did something that offended AFSCME officials or they feel the need to get as much distance between themselves and the disastrous Dean campaign.

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