Three years ago, Jim Chiodo stood in front of a couple thousand people at a tea party rally in Battle Creek, grabbed a pamphlet and used it as an impromptu bullhorn as he led the crowd in patriot songs until the tardy Tea Party Express arrived.

Today, Chiodo says with confidence that he thinks Mitt Romney will defeat President Barack Obama in a landslide.

Chiodo, a member of the Ottawa County Patriots, acknowledges the polls say it’s a toss-up.

"I'm not looking at polls," Chiodo said. "I'm just sensing it. There is a line in the Declaration of Independence that says, 'We hold these truths to be self-evident.' Nobody has to tell me these rights. You just know it. That same 'self-evident' is telling me that we are going to see a landslide (for Romney)."

Chiodo sites several of the same things that many tea party activists say when asked why they think Romney will win: They haven't seen the same type of support that Obama got in 2008, and there are far fewer Obama signs in the neighborhoods.

Tea party members from around Michigan said a Romney victory will be bigger than even any of the polls were projecting. The enthusiasm isn't muted by a number of polls that through Monday had the candidates in a neck-and-neck race.

For the most part, they don't believe the polls, which often don't take account of tea party voters.

"Come Wednesday morning, all the newspapers, all the pollsters are going to say, 'Oh my gosh. We were wrong,' " Chiodo said.

Ed Tomaszewski, of the Romeo Tea Party, predicted a Romney victory thanks to a groundswell of support from independent voters. He said he thinks Romney will win by 10 percentage points.

"Other people are feeling it is greater than that, but I'm kind of conservative," Tomaszewski said.

Matt Kleifgen, of the Allegan County Tea Party, also said he senses a change from 2008.

"I believe Romney is going to win this election," he said. "I believe the support that Obama had in 2008 is just not there. I do think the enthusiasm is gone."

Dennis Moore of the Willow Run Tea Party Caucus said Willow Run is strongly Democrat historically, but he said many Democrats have told him they are voting for Romney.

"There are a lot of Democrats who won't vote for Obama again," Moore said. "That is going to be a huge surprise."

Joan Fabiano, founder of Grassroots in Michigan, said the election is about the economy.

"It's buyers regret with a lot of independents," Fabiano said. "I think Romney will probably win but I think it's important to note that it is more of a referendum against Obama than a huge victory for Romney."

Tina Dupont, of the Tea Party of West Michigan, said she thinks Romney will win by a large margin. Four years ago, she saw many neighborhoods filled with Obama signs.

"You just don't see that now," Dupont said.

Marcus Pederson, of the Coldwater Area Tea Party, said he thought Obama would win.

"I think I live in a country with just enough stupid people for him to win," Pederson said. "We are fighting against a Democratic Party that has a secret motto: Vote early and vote often. They can't win without cheating but they are willing to cheat."

As Election Day looms, Proposal 2 and Proposal 4 are without any serious support from the state's news outlets.

No daily newspaper in the state has endorsed Proposal 2, which would allow union contracts to overrule laws made by the legislature, and only two weekly newspapers have endorsed it. 

Proposal 4, which would lock the forced unionization of home-based caregivers in the state constitution and allow the Service Employees International Union to continue to take at least $6 million a year from the elderly and disabled, has not received endorsements from any newspaper in Michigan.

Nick De Leeuw, spokesman for Citizens Protecting Michigan’s Constitution, a group opposed to proposals that would amend the state constitution, said he’s been tracking newspaper endorsements through Nov. 2 and confirms the lack of support.

The Traverse City Record-Eagle, the Herald-Palladium, The Grand Rapids Press, Kalamazoo Gazette, Flint Journal, Bay City Times, Muskegon Chronicle, Saginaw News, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Detroit Free Press, Adrian Daily Telegram, Huron Daily Tribune, Petoskey News, Midland Daily News, Holland Sentinel, Detroit News, Sturgis Journal, Livingston Daily County Press & Argus, Lansing State Journal, Soo Evening News, Battle Creek Enquirer, Greenville Daily News, Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun, Southgate News Herald, Southgate Press and Guide, The Ile Camera, The Guardian, Ann Arbor Journal, Milan News-Leader and Saline Reporter, Chelsea Standard and Dexter Leader, Manchester Enterprise, Ypsilanti Courier, Saline View, Ionia Sentinel-Standard and Crain’s Detroit Business have all come out against Proposal 2.

De Leeuw said the Lansing City Pulse and the Michigan Chronicle were the only weeklies to support Prop 2.

Dan Lijana, spokesman for "Protect Working Families" campaign, which previously was "Protect Our Jobs," didn’t respond to a request for comment about endorsements.

Media outlets across the state have universally urged readers to vote "no" on Proposal 4. The SEIU has taken more than $32 million from the Medicaid checks of the elderly and disabled in Michigan since 2005 when it orchestrated the unionization scheme when Jennifer Granholm was governor. The SEIU needs the amendment to pass to continue the scheme, which will otherwise end when the current contract ends in February 2013.

MLive Media Group, the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News were all especially critical of Proposal 4. MLive called it "a crass grab for union membership" and the Freep said it was "easy to dismiss." The Detroit News said it was a "self-serving measure that enriches only the SEIU."

Even some disability advocates are against the proposal.

Jan Lampman, executive director of The Arc of Midland, wrote a letter-to-the-editor on Nov. 4 in the Midland Daily News saying that her local affiliate does not support Prop 4.

David Thompson, who serves on the board of directors of the Arc Michigan, wrote a letter Nov. 3 in the Midland Daily News saying, “I see not benefit for the patient and only additional burden placed upon the taxpayer. … Again taxpayers will (be) the losers on this proposal.”

The Arc Michigan's executive director, Dohn Hoyle, has aggressively lobbied for Proposal 4's passage. Hoyle also has been critical of people who are against the ballot measure, calling one local caregiver "an idiot" because he is against the forced unionization and against Proposal 4.

Hoyle, who also is spokesman for the Proposal 4 campaign, has not responded to requests for comment.