For the US Elections, Florida and Ohio are considered to be two major battleground states. Normally, Florida tends to lean towards Democrats as there are plenty of Democrats than Republicans. It is a given that McCain will try to win Florida and Ohio. The same can be said with Obama who will try to win Virginia and Georgia.
These are just examples of some of the major battleground states for the 2008 US Presidential Elections.
However, the Obama campaign has weighed in on Ohio and Florida. What was just said could be considered a slap to the face of the voters in Ohio and Florida. With many supporters of Senator Hillary Clinton of New York still bitter and frustrated over what had happened, it may not bode well for Obama.
David Plouffe, the campaign manager to the Obama campaign was at a fundraiser last Friday in Washington DC. There were donors and former Clinton supporters present at the brewery where the fundraiser event was held. Plouffe outlined an alternative to getting the needed 270 electoral votes without Florida and Ohio.
This counteracts traditional wisdom of the past. But, this would be looked as an insult to both Ohio and Florida. At the same time, this could possibly be falling into a trap that the Clinton campaign had fallen into. In the past, Clinton used Karl Rove’s electoral map as an example. Plouffe came up with his own electoral map.
This map will be different from the one used in 2004. According to Plouffe, winning those two states is not required to winning the US Presidential Elections this November. But, he did say it would not hurt to win Ohio and Florida. Plouffe said that while winning Ohio and Florida are not required, he said that winning those two would cement Obama’s victory.
This year, Florida has 27 electoral votes while Ohio has 20 electoral votes. According to the electoral math by Plouffe, Obama would need to win the states that 2004 Democratic nominee Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts had won. He says that Obama can win most of them. However, Plouffe said that New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Michigan are up for grabs between Obama and presumed GOP nominee Senator John McCain of Arizona.
Still, Obama and McCain will be competing for Ohio, Florida, Virginia, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, and a few other battleground states. Michigan could also prove to be difficult due to what happened with the recent DNC ruling.
While Plouffe said that victories in Ohio and Florida are not required, it will not stop Obama from trying to win both.
In short, Plouffe explains that there are many ways to get 270 electoral votes. At the end, Plouffe said: “Our goal is not to be reliant on one state on November 4th.”
On one side, it could be considered a slap in the face to Florida and Ohio. However, Plouffe has said that Obama will work hard to win those states. But, winning Ohio and Florida will be tough as Obama must vigorously compete with McCain.
At the same time, former NYC Mayor and former GOP hopeful Rudy Giuliani depended a lot on Florida and other major states. Giuliani ended up losing Florida to McCain.
In short, the Obama campaign will not focus on one or two states. It plans to focus on many different states.
At the same time, Plouffe warned that it would be a mistake to underestimate McCain. He said that McCain is formidable adversary.
Overall, Plouffe says that the main goal is not to rely on only one state let alone a specific state.
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