Kerry Campaign Shifts Its Focus to Southwest

[Dover]

Kerry Campaign Shifts Its Focus to Southwest

Except for Florida, Democrats have all but given up on the South, an unprecedented move.

By Ronald Brownstein, Times Staff Writer


LAS VEGAS — When John Kerry arrives in Reno today for his sixth visit to Nevada this year, he will underscore a dramatic shift in the geography of the race for the White House.

Kerry, in a virtually unprecedented move for a Democrat, is relying more on the West than the South in his plan to reach the 270 electoral votes needed for victory.

Once the party of the "Solid South," Democrats this year are not actively contesting any state in the region except Florida in the presidential campaign. Instead, Kerry has shifted his attention west, mounting major efforts in Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and, at one point, Arizona.

"In the 1980s and the 1990s, the Holy Grail was to make the Democratic Party competitive in the South again," said Simon Rosenberg, president of the New Democratic Network, a political action committee that supports centrist party officials. "Now the Southwest is a vital, new part of the Democratic strategy."

This shift may reflect equal parts opportunity and weakness...cont'd

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/2004/la-na-southwest22oct22,1,5078707.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[Wat_Tyler]

1. Seems strange. I would assume they'd fight for Arkansas.

[Dover]

2. Apparently their numbers are telling them to abandon the South

and to pay more attention to the tighter States where he could tip the balance.

[Dover]

3. How does this article drop down to the second page so quickly?

Is there that much traffic in this forum?