Buoyed by success, Democrats to force cash-strapped McCain to defend safe areasSuzanne Goldenberg and Ewen MacAskill in Hempstead, New York
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/17/uselections2008-barackobamaBarack Obama, emerging from the third and final debate against John McCain with his momentum unchecked, yesterday opened up new fronts in the November 4 election battle by expanding into normally bedrock Republican states. Although he warned his supporters at a fundraising breakfast in New York against becoming too cocky, the Democratic candidate is pursuing a strategy that could see him take states that George Bush won with ease in 2000 and 2004.
Obama's chief strategist, David Axelrod, said after the debate in Hempstead that Obama and his running mate, Joe Biden, were now considering visits to states such as Montana and North Dakota, once considered beyond reach. "I think it is fair to say that we are thinking of going into states we were not sure of at all earlier," said Axelrod. "Some things are opening up for us here that no one fully anticipated."
Other states coming into play include West Virginia, Kentucky and Georgia. Obama's campaign team said yesterday it would begin to broadcast new ads in these states. Even if they prove to be beyond Obama's reach, his campaigning will force the cash-strapped Republicans to spend money and effort defending states they once took for granted.
(snip)
The prospect of Obama and Biden going to North Dakota shows how much ground he has made since the summer, when he pulled campaign staff out of the state, calculating there was little prospect of taking it. Between them, Montana and North Dakota account for only six of the 270 electoral college votes Obama and McCain need to win the White House - a fraction compared with a battleground such as Ohio, with 20 electoral college votes.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
