Wisconsin has received a half billion dollars -- more than twice as much as any other state -- from a federal subsidy meant to help out dairy farmers struggling with low milk prices.

Should farmers keep that safety net? Both Democratic presidential candidates think so.

In a tough 2004 re-election fight, Republican President Bush said he, too, would support renewing the program in spite of its cost to taxpayers. But this year 's GOP frontrunner, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, says he can 't do that.

"At a time when Americans must work four months a year just to pay their taxes, John McCain cannot support farm policies that are too costly for the taxpayer, particularly when they also play a negative role in encouraging farmers to rely on government subsidies, " McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said of the dairy subsidy.

The Wisconsin State Journal asked the four major candidates about their views on state-specific issues ranging from the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) to manufacturing jobs and prescription drugs for seniors.

Much as they 've done on national issues, the candidates have taken similar positions within each party on state topics, making it tough to distinguish between Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama. But, as with immigration or the war in Iraq, some voters will look at issues unique to Wisconsin in deciding whether to vote in the Republican or Democratic primary, campaign watchers said.

For instance, the dairy subsidy could be a deciding factor for farmers and rural voters, said Mike Tate, a Democratic political strategist.

"It 's not going to matter if (the candidates) have an R ' next to their name or a D ' next to their name, " said Tate, who ran Howard Dean 's 2004 Democratic primary campaign in Wisconsin.

The campaigns for Clinton, McCain, and Obama all responded to the State Journal 's survey. The campaign of GOP longshot Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, had a week to respond but did not.

Among the responses:

Clinton and Obama both said they supported not only renewing the MILC program but expanding payments on it and the amount of farmers ' milk eligible for the payments. McCain said he favored opening new global markets for state farmers. The price support, which kicks in when the price of milk falls below a trigger level, has delivered $511 million to Wisconsin farmers since December 2001. The subsidy is not currently being paid to farmers because the price is above the trigger level.

Clinton and Obama both said they would renew federal funding for Wisconsin 's popular SeniorCare prescription drug program when it expires in December 2009. McCain praised SeniorCare but said he would need to review the Medicaid-funded program as president before deciding.

Clinton and Obama both emphasized rewarding companies that keep Wisconsin 's manufacturing jobs from moving abroad. McCain said the solution lies in lowering trade barriers to let Wisconsin companies reach more global markets.

Clinton and Obama both pledged to commit unspecified funding to an environmental coalition 's plan to renew the ailing Great Lakes, beset by invasive species and falling water levels. McCain said only that the lakes are a "national treasure and should be treated accordingly. "

GOP strategist Mark Graul said McCain 's willingness to oppose the dairy subsidy could help him position himself as a principled politician who 's willing to talk straight with voters.

"He 's not necessarily going to tell people what they want to hear, but what he thinks, " Graul said.

Paul Zimmerman, a lobbyist for the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, said candidates ' stands on the subsidy program would be an "important factor " but not the only one for farmers as the group decides what candidate to endorse, if any. The federation backed Bush in the general election in 2004 -- the first time the 42,000-member farm group endorsed a candidate for president, Zimmerman said.

UW-La Crosse political science professor Joe Heim said the Democratic candidates ' differences on national and state-specific issues were generally too minor to cause voters to pick one over the other. But for independent voters, the differences between the Democrats and Republicans might be enough to steer voters toward one primary or the other, Heim said.

Undecided Democratic voter Jean Adler of Monticello said she was motivated by issues like health care and the effect that the rise of Chinese manufacturing was having on the price of raw steel for her family 's own small machining business.

But Adler, 48, said that those issues wouldn 't influence her decision between Obama and Clinton and that she would vote for the candidate "who best is going to win the election. "

UW-Madison political science professor Ken Goldstein said Adler 's reaction was typical.

"There 's very, very little daylight between the candidates, " Goldstein said. "We often see that in primary races where there 's little substantive differences on the issues, and then elections get based on either familiarity or personality. That 's clearly the dynamic in this race. "