Although he will not be at the state Republican Convention in Grand Rapids this weekend (February 9-10) and did not even register for a booth at the party conclave, Rudy Giuliani will make a major effort to win Michigan's delegates to the Republican National Convention in '08. Sources close to the former New York mayor say that, while he won't be at the state party conclave, sources close to Giuliani tell me he will nonetheless make news this weekend by announcing that a senior member of the Michigan congressional delegation will chair his still-to-be-announced presidential bid in the Water Wonderland.

So far, Michigan Republicans have yet to determine whether they will choose convention delegates in '08 through a primary or a caucus-convention system that they last deployed in 1988.

Until now, Michigan has been considered terra incognita for Giuliani. John McCain, who won a dramatic upset in the 2000 primary over George W. Bush, has been focusing strongly on the state and this year has the support of Republican National Committeeman Chuck Yob (whose son John is the full-time top operative for the Arizonan in Michigan). Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who was born in the state and whose father George was its governor from 1962-68, also has a well-oiled organization in Michigan. Among his supporters are Rep. Pete Hoekstra.

But now Giuliani, it appears, will get serious about Michigan, too. A just-completed Detroit Free Press poll showed the New Yorker leading the GOP filed among likely primary voters (assuming there is a primary) with 32% of the vote, followed by McCain with 28%, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich 16%, and Romney 8%.