Not long ago at a Washington DC fundraiser for presumed Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, it was David Plouffe, the manager for the Obama Campaign that had outlined a new electoral map. Under this electoral map, victory for Obama would not be dependent on one state or two. In this case, this electoral map would not be dependent on either Ohio or Florida, which are two major battleground states.
In short, one cannot play all the poker chips on one state or two states. However, Plouffe said it does not mean Obama is going to let presumed GOP nominee Senator John McCain of Arizona take Ohio and Florida. Though the new electoral map shows that Obama does not necessary need Ohio and Florida, he will work hard to win those two states nonetheless.
A recent Quinnipiac University poll released today on Wednesday, June 18, it shows that Obama is leading McCain in the very vital swing states. So far, Plouffe has said that victories in Florida and Ohio are not necessarily required for victory this November. However, Plouffe said that wins in Ohio and Florida would definitely guarantee victory for Obama.
During the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania, Obama had lost to Senator Hillary Clinton of New York by 9 points. But, Obama has a 12-point lead over McCain. In Pennsylvania, it is 52 to 40 points.
Obama and also lost to Clinton in Ohio. Clinton had beat Obama in Ohio by 12 points. The poll shows that Obama leads McCain in Ohio by six points with the results of being 48 to 42 points.
On another interesting note, Obama leads McCain in Florida by 47 to 43 points. Florida and Michigan were stripped of their delegates back in January for having their primaries too early. Obama did not campaign in Florida. Clinton won Florida. Clinton had tried to get the votes in Florida and Michigan counted.
The results from this poll are a complete 180-degree turn. Back then, it was McCain that led Obama in those states. Now, the recent poll results show that Obama now leads over McCain.
Between 1,300 and 1,500 voters were interviewed for this poll from those three states.
While Plouffe says that victories in Florida and Ohio are not necessarily required for victory, the polls show that Obama leads McCain in those two states as of this moment.