Posted on 10/20/2012 1:34:49 PM PDT by Red Steel
Anxious to find the right combination of states to win the Electoral College, Mitt Romneys campaign pushed Saturday into battlegrounds it had largely avoided.
The Republicans forged into the swing states of Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, which the GOP had previously appeared resigned to ceding to President Obama.
Paul Ryan, Romneys running mate, ripped Obamas energy policy to a crowd at the Pittsburgh International Airport.
"Gas prices are more than double what they were four years ago - who knows what they're going to be if he got four more years," Ryan said. "Not only are these policies wrong, they...cost us jobs.
The GOP also bought ad time on Boston television stations, which broadcast into the state directly north.
Though New Hampshire only awards four electoral votes, its importance is magnified if Romney cant win Ohio. A loss in the Buckeye State, where Obama holds a slight lead over Romney, would mean the Republican would need to almost sweep the remaining swing states.
Obama is making his own push into those battlegrounds, announcing that he will launch a two-day, around the clock campaign blitz across six states starting Tuesday.
Air Force One will cover thousands of miles as the President holds events in Iowa, Colorado, Nevada, Florida, Virginia and Ohio - and makes a stop in Chicago to cast his own ballot early.
Both Obama and Romney remained holed up Saturday preparing for their last debate, to be held Monday on foreign policy.
They will square off in Florida, where Vice President Biden rallied supporters Saturday.
With you, we can take Florida, Biden said in St. Augustine. If we take Florida, this election is over."
Biden also again touted his campaigns new rallying cry - that Romney changes positions so much that he must suffer from chronic Romnesia.
Or, gee, could it be that in fact OH is now swinging their way and they are building a larger electoral majority?
I love the narrative of this report. As if Obama is still in control, and Romney is scrambling to find some EVs. Could not be further from the truth.
Anxious? GOP candidates don’t put money, time and staff into PA when they’re anxious, they do that when they have territory locked up and want to try for more.
Real headline:
Romney expands Electoral Map into PA and NH. Looks for Landslide!
I just don't see where the polls indicate OH is in Romney's column. I'm increasingly thinking this is 2000 where Romney is Gore and Obama is Bush. We could see a state or two won by razor thin margins like 2000 as well.
I saw a headline in where Obama had to buy ad time in Minnesota.. Not good for the Zero..
What I meant of course is I think Romney wins the popular vote and loses the EV’s.
They bought air time in MN that is broadcast in WI. It’s for WI not MN.
COLUMBUS An Ohio history professors analysis of absentee ballot requests found a significant shift in Republican enthusiasm in the battleground state since 2008.
The University of Daytons Larry Schweikart tallied absentee ballot requests so far in 2012 and compared them to similar requests four years ago. His review showed a 7-point swing in favor of the GOP.
Still more Democrats than Republicans requested early ballots, but Democrats percentage advantage has shifted from 33-19 in 2008 to 30-23 this year.
In 2008, Obama cleaned McCain in absentee voting, Schweikart said in a news release announcing the findings. McCain actually won the statewide vote on Election Day, but he was too far buried in the absentee and early vote count. Early voting in Ohio began earlier this month and could still produce some surprises.
Schweikart found some of the most significant swings came in the states large, heavily Democratic urban counties. Summit County, where Akron is located, led urban counties in pro-Republican swings with a 24-point shift.
In terms of absentee ballot requests, Republicans are hugely over-performing their 2008 levels, and the Democrats are underperforming compared to 2008, especially in the big counties, he said. What this means is that the polls are wrong. For weeks polls have shown an Obama lead ranging from 1 point to 8 points. But these absentee ballot requests reflect a huge enthusiasm gap among Democrats and Republicans, and Im predicting a total shift from 2008.
I sure hope the folks saying this is an attempt to go for a mandate are correct.
Well actually you’re confirming what I said - that the polls don’t indicate OH is swinging to Romney.
Seriously. Obama is in FL? Good. Waste those resources. Looks to me like Romney seeing the internals have secured OH and now are looking to add PA and NH.
I disagree... Besides read this: http://www.startribune.com/politics/blogs/174690791.html
Those are radio stations in eastern MN that are heard in western WI. I don’t believe they’re worried about MN.
Mitt is down 1 or tied in most Ohio polls today with a D+ 7 or 8 ! What does that tell you:)
No they're not going for a mandate. That's delusional. They may need to carry PA because OH is iffy.
What ??? Mitt is down 1 or tied in Ohio with polls that are D+ 7 or 8. There’s no way Obama gets over D+ 2 or 3 in that state. Figure it out.
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