Yes, ignore the independents at your peril.
"The political center forcefully asserted itself in Tuesday's midterms. The national exit poll showed that political independents, who divided their votes evenly between George Bush and John Kerry in 2004, swung decisively in favor of the Democrats. With roughly nine-in-ten Republicans and Democrats casting ballots for representatives of their parties, just as they did two years ago, the Democrats' 57%-39% advantage among independents proved crucial."
Arnold had the message to Republicans, to pay attention to independents.
Schwarzenegger Implores GOP To Follow Script of His Sequel: Court the Center
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1736725/posts
It is IMHO a mistake to call the independent voters "centrists"...
If they were, why weren't they more enamored of Bush's moderate stances on so many issues?