Wisconsin
Barack Obama was on defense today in Wisconsin, a state he once thought he had sewed up. But he went to the Green Bay area to shore up his support at a rally in the same arena where John McCain and Sarah Palin drew a crowd of over 10,000 last week. Obama's crowd was estimated at -- 6,000:
Hoping to shore up support in his suddenly undependable backyard, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama flew here Monday to talk about how he’d handle economic crises as president.
Recent polls have shown that Wisconsin — once pretty solidly in Obama’s column — is now a statistical dead heat between Obama and Republican John McCain.
“You all know that you hold this election in your hands,” Sen. Russ Feingold, a Democrat who said he worked on ethics legislation with Obama, told a crowd of about 6,000 cheering Obama fans in the arena next to Lambeau Field. “We just barely won this state for Al Gore in 2000 and we just barely won this state for John Kerry in 2004.”
The numbers in Wisconsin and Minnesota are getting close enough that the Obama campaign closed its 11 campaign offices in North Dakota and moved the 50 staffers there to these two states.
Just a week ago, John McCain and his vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin — who can bring out crowds the way Obama can — appeared in this same stadium, Resch Center, to a crowd of 10,000 fans. There were an uncharacteristic amount of empty orange seats for Obama’s rally.
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UPDATE: The Event has concluded.
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Here is a local news report previewing the John McCain - Sarah Palin rally to be held in Cedarburg, Wisconsin today, September 5, 2008. McCain and Palin will begin speaking at 11 AM CDT.
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Good news out today on the polling front -- Quinnipiac is out with polls from Colorado, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, and all four show gains for Sen. John McCain!
McCain has moved slightly ahead in Colorado, and is now only two points back in Minnesota, and four points back in Michigan. He still trails by 11 points in Wisconsin, but has made gains there too:
Arizona Sen. John McCain has inched ahead of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in Colorado; come within inches in Minnesota and narrowed the gap in Michigan and Wisconsin, according to four simultaneous Quinnipiac University polls of likely voters in these battleground states, conducted in partnership with The Wall Street Journal and washingtonpost.com and released today.
Voters in each state say energy policy is more important than the war in Iraq. And by margins of 22 to 31 percentage points, voters in each state support offshore oil drilling, and by seven to 12-point margins, drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge.
Sen. McCain has picked up support in almost every group in every state, especially among independent voters and men voters. The Republican now leads Obama among independent voters in Michigan and Minnesota. Overall results show:
* Colorado: McCain is up by a nose 46 - 44 percent, compared to a 49 - 44 percent Obama lead June 26;
* Michigan: Obama tops McCain 46 - 42 percent, compared to a 48 - 42 percent lead last time;
* Minnesota: Obama edges ahead 46 - 44 percent, compared to a 54 - 37 percent Obama lead;
* Wisconsin: Obama leads McCain 50 - 39 percent, compared to 52 - 39 percent."Sen. Barack Obama's post-primary bubble hasn't burst, but it is leaking a bit. It's been a good month for Sen. John McCain. His movement in these key states, not large except for Minnesota, jibes with the tightening we are seeing in the national polls," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
"The good news for McCain is that he has improved his standing in Colorado and Michigan, two states that are critical to each man's strategy. Obama wants to break through in the Rocky Mountain and Southwestern states that have been going Republican for decades. McCain sees recently Democratic Michigan as his top takeaway target," Brown added.
"One reason for McCain's progress may be the energy issue. The results show increased support for additional drilling - which McCain supports and Obama opposes. Roughly one in ten voters say they have changed their minds and now favor drilling because of the jump in energy prices. They support Obama, but with voters saying that the energy issue is now more important to their presidential vote than is the war in Iraq, this group represents an opportunity for the Republican.
To put this in perspective, Minnesota has only voted Republican once since 1956 (in 1972 when Nixon won 49 states). Michigan has not voted Republican since 1988, and Wisconsin not since 1984. For McCain to be within 2 points in Minnesota, and 4 points in Michigan right now is astounding, especially considering the non-stop positive press Obama has received for over 1 1/2 months now, since clinching the nomination against Hillary.
This adds an interesting element to the VP decision for McCain. Pawlenty might be enough to put McCain over the top in Minnesota, and Romney might be enough to do the same in Michigan. I'm sure the McCain Campaign is trying to analyze which is the better bet.
Here is a local news report previewing Sen. John McCain's appearance in Milwaukee, WI, today, April 16, 2008, where he will speak at an economic summit.
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Sen. John McCain began the work of exposing Barack Obama for the far-left, liberal, "empty suit" that he is, following his convincing wins in Wisconsin and Washington state last night. McCain made several direct statements about Obama, but without actually using his name! McCain delivered 12-minute remarks that were concise, pointed, and effective, while Obama's speech last night, after his wins, lasted 45 minutes, delievered in a rambling style that left me thinking - "He has fallen in love with the sound of his own voice." The contrast could not have been more stark, which is what will be true of this Fall's election.
John McCain scored convincing wins in Wisconsin and Washington state Tuesday, moving closer to locking up the GOP nomination. McCain is still short of the 1,191 necessary delegates to clinch the nod, but the decisive margin with which he defeated Mike Huckabee in both states offered evidence that he’s beginning to consolidate support from the party base.
McCain defeated Huckabee by 18 percent in Wisconsin and, with votes still being counted, appeared on his way to winning Washington by over 20 percent. read more »
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John McCain has scored a huge win tonight in the Wisconsin GOP Primary! With 75% of the vote counted, McCain leads Mike Huckabee 54% - 37%. Here are the details, provided by the Washington Post:
Sen. John McCain logged another victory over former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee on Tuesday in Wisconsin, where he appeared to be matching his rival among conservative voters, who previously shunned his candidacy.
McCain slogged through 18 inches of snow in 3-degree Wisconsin weather in the morning. But as the votes were counted, the senator from Arizona was already celebrating in Ohio, which will join Texas in holding a primary in two weeks.
"I will be our party's nominee for president of the United States," McCain declared to supporters, acknowledging that outright for the first time and promising to "wage a campaign with determination, passion and the right ideas for strengthening our country."
He immediately turned his fire on Democrats, particularly Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), dismissing an "eloquent but empty call for change" as "no more than a holiday from history."
In early exit polls, conservatives split evenly. It was a stark improvement for McCain, who has struggled to counter Huckabee's appeal among evangelicals and other GOP base voters. He also won convincingly among Republicans.
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Here is video of remarks made by Sen. John McCain following his big victory in the Wisconsin GOP Primary tonight, February 19, 2008:
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Here is a video report from WTMJ4-Milwaukee on John McCain campaigning in Brookfield, Wisconsin, February 19, 2008.
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Here is a video report from WFRV-TV in Green Bay on John McCain's speech in Appleton, WI, on February 18,2008, just ahead of the Wisconsin Primary. McCain's campaign themes of national security, conservative Supreme Court appointments, and lower taxes are clearly evident.
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