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Poll Suggests Deep-Red South Dakota May Be In Play

Wow. A new Rasmussen poll suggests that Barack Obama could be putting in play the very red state of South Dakota, which hasn't voted Democratic for president since the 1964 Lyndon Johnson landslide.

The numbers: McCain 47%, Obama 43%. Compare this to 2004, when George W. Bush beat John Kerry by a 60%-39% margin. The last Rasmussen poll here was four months ago, and it had McCain ahead 48%-38%.

The kicker: South Dakota isn't on the list of 18 states that the Obama camp has been targeting with advertising. But with numbers like these, that list might end up growing any day now.


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Perhaps spill-over advertising from ND?

How expensive can it be to advertise in SD anyway...?

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Get a busload of volunteers, and you could probably canvass every citizen between now and November....

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I'm as greedy as everyone, but even I have to admit that may not be the best use of resources. But it's fun to contemplate!

"Wow. A new Rasmussen poll suggests that Barack Obama could be putting in play the very red state of South Dakota, which hasn't voted Democratic for president since the 1964 Lyndon Johnson landslide."

Anyone else have de ja vu with this paragraph?

Yes... Was it for NORTH Dakota before, maybe?

I don't know what it was for. But they've used that exact same paragraph for at least one other red state poll.

And Ras says Obama's opened up a double-digit lead in Iowa. McCain's discovering why it's important not to bypass that state if you actually intend on being the nominee.

All said, if this is the best McCain can do with the press acting like his official campaign spokesman, he is very, very close to transitioning from "screwed" to "utterly *****ed."

Press acting as official campaign spokesman - I like that, you are exactly right. Imagine these numbers if the press were neutral, wow!

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Sigh. If only.

I kind of blew off the whole cell phone thing as a non-issue, but today I read the stats on this, and I think I underestimated it. Not necessarily in South Dakota, but in general. I am currently in the process of obtaining a second iPhone and we will get rid of the land line. How many others I wonder?

I haven't had a land line in probably 6 years (I'm 25).

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Since you're so young, I just have to ask. Are you going to be too tired to vote in November, as Cokie Roberts thinks?

What do you mean? I already voted like 3 months ago.

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LOL!

You were joking, right?

;)

My 30, 29 and 24 year old children will all vote, and vote Obama with glee. Cokie needs to wake up herself :0)

I am 54. So you are young and ahead of the curve as are two of my three children. Now the baby boomers are trending this way. That may be a good sign!

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You are shitting me - we are almost the same age and I would have sworn you were no older than 30.

LOL!

Tena: We are aging backwards :)

I like that..aging backwards...I'm 58...

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But of course my dear, and aging and disgracefully as possible, too.

I'm telling you - everyone our age should be right here in Taos, New Mexico - it's where old hippies come to die and boy am I in the right place.

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Wait a minute, I thought only the kids used the Internet

(I'm 40)

Now you *both* dated yourselves, silly geese!!!

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If you weren't counting your 30 year-old as young, I'm going to be very upset with you...

My thirty year old is young, hip and gets it with politics! We are such great friends, past the mom thing and I enjoy her more than friends my age!

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Ok Amelie I'm 52 years old, I have a deep voice I've had for the last 39 years. When I, or someone like me calls and asks for your kids and explains we're volunteers from a Democratic candidate's campaign trying to ID voters please don't get upset. I'm not some guy your daughter mistakenly gave her phone number to Friday night, an army recruiter or a NSA operative.

We're trying to figure out who we should spend time and money on to get their votes, who the McCain deadenders are we should ignore and like you and your kids who we should ask to join us.

No offense but I spent 3 hours calling indies tonight who haven't voted since 2004 for my congressional candidate and I got more than one mom who blurted out "she's married!" like I'm some old boyfriend looking her up.

Mark: Regarding my daughter, I would say call her, and let her handle it, I am pretty easy going about these things. I think my 24 year old (S.F.) is so/so about voting. I had to actually ask her to register to do so for Mother's Day as a gift for me which she insisted she should have gotten. Job done. She is just not engaged in the process much yet. But the 29 (NYC) and 30 year olds (CA rural) are. My daughter, 30, is big into the environment and and this has to do with having two children of her own. My son is a doctor and single, his deal would be health care. All would say they are independents. They are a hard group to convince that their vote is vital. I have done phone calls locally, and I guess the first thing I like to find out is what is the most important issue to the voter, and back that up with facts as to why they should vote for the candidate you are calling on behalf of. I do think with this age group, the privatization of Social Security does resonate, though not to a large extent, as they see themselves paying for all the baby boomers, forgetting all the boomers paid for the over 65's now drawing. I admire your volunteering, it is time consuming and frustrating at times. With a deep voice, I would call all the women first !!

Hey, everybody, I'm 116, win marathons, and look like a *fashion model*! GOOD GENES!!!

yeah same here (22)

This is totally anecdotal, so you can take it with a large grain of salt, but I do rather question the premise that cell-phone-only tilts hard to Obama. My grandfather recently passed away, so my grandmother decided to move into a senior center apartment because she did not want to live alone in the country. When she moved into the senior center, she began to make arrangements to get a phone number in the center, but was told that it was a huge hassle and that most of the residents in that center just used cell phones. On the assumption that this particular senior center was not an anomaly, it would appear that more than a few elderly Lutherans are also cell-phone-only.

In other words, it is not just the tech-savvy, young kids in the cell-phone-only category. My grandmother is a lukewarm McCain supporter and I expect that most of her neighbors would answer to that same description. With that in mind, I am not entirely certain that leaving these people out of the surveys is really depressing Obama's numbers as significantly as that article might lead one to believe.

Oh holy shit... Obama up 17 in Minnesota.

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You know? I was sort of wondering about why the McCain campaign was so strident today. The "brazen attempt" language, for instance, of Graham.

The "Obama wants us to lose!" language. The immigration comments.

And I started to wonder if McCAin had internal polls telling his campaign some not so good news, or, if the McCain campaign had advance knowledge that Chuck Hagel OR Colin Powell might be coming out to publicly endorse Obama...So all the negativity to offset what would be obviously good news for Obama.

Make that 18.

So the question is...

with Michigan and Minnesota drifting out of contention, does that hurt or help Romney and Pawlenty?

Do the South Dakota numbers open the door for Thune?

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It hurts both. McCain wouldn't choose either unless he knew they could put him over the top in either of those two states. A VP choice might bring in 3 to 5 percentage points but 15 to 20 is out of the question; I don't care how popular they are.

Texas, anyone? Pretty please?

Man I hope so. I've got family down there that would LOVE it if it went blue this year. And I know Tena has been crossing her fingers too...

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Tell 'em to stop "lovin' it" and start "makin' it happen..." We need all the boots on the ground we can get. I live in Maryland and I'm going to spend the next several months trying to help swing VA and NC, and I don't let my family in those states mention how excited they are without asking them what volunteer work they're doing, when they last donated, etc. WE is the most important word in "YES WE CAN!"

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I'm wildly optimistic about us in Texas because the trend has been so clear: '04, Kerry only missed carrying Dallas Co. by .01% of the vote. '06 - the entire country pulled a straight Democratic ticket lever - we threw out 49 Repug judges and replaced them with Democrats, thus reversing the Reagan massacre of our judiciary in '84.

Primary night in Dallas Co. in one precinct in Oak Cliff, 4000 people turned out for Obama. That precinct saw a total of 58 votes in '04.

Is it just me or do some of these polls point to a somewhat disturbing scenario?

Say Obama does lose some of these deep red states that Bush won by 20pts but he only loses them by 1 or 2 pts.

Could we see a scenario where Obama wins the popular vote by several million votes but loses the electoral college by a delegate or two?

Yes, of course that's possible, but if he's pulling within 1-2% in these deep red states, he's going to be doing fine in the traditional battlegrounds.

Kerry + Iowa + New Mexico + Colorado
Kerry + Iowa + Nevada + Colorado
Kerry + Nevada + New Mexico + Colorado
Kerry + Ohio
Kerry + Iowa + Virginia
Kerry + New Mexico + Virginia (with a congressional tie-breaker)
Kerry + Nevada + Virginia (with a congressional tie-breaker)

If McCain can't put any of these Kerry states into play, he's got a lot of combinations to worry about, even if Obama doesn't pull an upset in Flordia, Missouri, Indiana, Montana, Georgia, North Carolina, or the Dakotas.

I hope you're right.

I'm a worrier by nature and the above seems like the cruelest possibility.

I guess my biggest concern is if he loses PA. He would have to pick up quite a few to make up for that.

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And based on the latest polls it is looking more like: Kerry + Iowa + New Mexico + Colorado + Ohio + Virginia + Missouri and possibly Indiana, Florida, North Carolina, Montana, the Dakotas and Nevada too along with one Electoral Vote in Nebraska.

Possible, but highly unlikely. I'd worry if the opponent was more appealing than John McCain is.

Yay!! Good news!

The latest Zogby indicates a close race in Texas:

McBushSame: 42%
Obama: 39%
Barr: 6%
Nader: 2%
Undecided: 7%
Other 4%

Good news for McBushSame

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Zogby actually IS good news for McSame

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Confused. In many, if not most, of the so-called battleground states there is a clear Obama lead. And then in some states like SD where Obama should be expected to be down by double digits, he is down by 5 points or less. So why do the daily national polls show a 3% edge for Obama?

One explanation could be that Obama is getting clobbered in the popular vote of some Southern states, including TN, but Obama is beating McCain in all other regions. This may make for a narrow popular vote win but a sizable electoral vote win.

North and South Dakota don't have many people, so they'll hardly have any impact on the national polls. The two states together have about 1.5 million people, so in a country of 300 million, they'd be worth about 5 people in a 1000 person polling sample. Not enough to swing the national numbers at all, really.

I'm not sure, but I think the national polls tend to reflect the impact of the media narratives, while the state polls are more reflective of ground level organizing.

All polls have underlying assumptions and those assumptions can vary considerably. Different polling companies can have assumptions that range from reflecting reality to magical thinking.

I never understood the polling for the Missouri primary when I could not match those polls to what I was actually encountering in my neighborhood. I heard loudly and clearly from supporters for Obama, Edwards, and any Republican. I only located "very quiet" Hillary supporters. Guess who won?

Right now I'm hearing loudly and clearly from supporters for Obama and the "base" Republicans. I can only locate "very quiet" McCain supporters--and I suspect a lot of these would simply pull the covers over the head and not vote on election day.

If you are someone who can canvass door-to-door, then get cracking. You'll be energized by what you discover.

if obama wins south dakota he's going to get about 450 electoral college votes. it's a great sign that he's doing well there, but i have a hard time getting too worked up over it.

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The times, they are a-changing and so is the electoral map.

Arizona:

McBushSame: 39%
Obama: 42%
Barr: 7%
Nader: 2%
Undecided: 5%
Other: 5%

Another good news for McSameBush:)

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O that's great news for McLame - he's going to lose his own state.

Ouch!

Tena: Having lived in AZ for a decade, and having a lot of family there, I suspected this. He is not adored by any means. He has barely ever had to campaign there with any fervor, except maybe his first election. He wins by default.

Holy Moley!!!

Obama is killing him Iowa and Minnesota as well.

Lived in Minnesota for 15 years. Great state. They will come through for Obama, they will figure it out.

Chew over this speculation on my part. Recall all the outcry from the Net-Roots about Senator Obama moving to the center, with his FISA vote, his faith based program, and other centrist positions.

Now some of the National polls are tightening, and the Net-Roots are rushing to claim it is because Senator Obama broke with them. Think about this: what if the vast majority of those liberal activists that are no longer behind him are in safe big states such as NY, Ill, and CA. They may show up in the national polls but they will not make a difference in the outcome of those safe big states.

On the other hand, might not his move to the middle be what is showing him making gains in those red states, and that is what is now putting them in play. After all, it is the states that you carry, and not the popular vote size that matterd. He just might be willing to lose some of the left fringe in big liberal states in order to put other states in play. If carrying New York state by a smaller margin would give him a couple of the small states that he would not otherwise get, then that would be a very good trade off.

What do you think of that notion folks?

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I think that I trust Obama and Plouffe to do what is necessary to get Obama elected.

Yours is a difficult hypothesis to test, but it makes a certain amount of intuitive sense. Certainly if that is what we are seeing, I would agree that such would be a good trade to make.

For some reason the netroots not having as big an influence as they think they do makes me want to giggle and giggle and giggle ...

great point.........

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My wife and I have a similar argument every election cycle, about the right- or wrong-ness of an electoral college system. I learned in my Political Science classes that the Founding Fathers envisioned, and tried to create, a system that empowered the states' leadership to select a President because they wanted the office of the executive to be answerable not to the general population but to the states' leadership.

By shifting to a popular election system for president, as my wife thinks is appropriate after the 2000 Bush Selection, we would have a situation where candidates could secure the office of President simply by focusing their efforts on the citizens of the five or six most populous states, potentially at the expense of the rest of the states' interests.

The founders clearly thought keeping the federal government subject to the will of all the states was vitally important. That is the system we have inherited, though the balance has over the years tilted to more federal power and less state power.

If, by reaching toward the center, as some contend Obama is doing at the expense of support from the arguably left-leaning net, he is shoring up his chances of carrying the other states he must win in order to rescue us from Republican mismanagement and corruption, I think that's fine, that's realpolitik - and it's in keeping with the system we have under our constitution.

this why i hate national polls that's all over the place when we go state by state obama is couple points behind mcsame or has a pretty good lead in other states...................

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Other than the deep south and a couple of plains states, are there any other red states that aren't "in play." I don't think so. This could be an historic landslide election. I am amazed at some of these state polls this far out from the election.

I agree with you liam on the move to the center. I hope he moves to the center all day long. I want a huge landslide, not a win by a squeaker or a loss by a squeaker. In order for him to do anything, he needs a landslide and huge coattails, which will happen with moving to the center.

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I'm much more concerned with how someone would govern than whether or not the show some "message drift" from the primary to the general. And in this case, I'm not concerned at all about either candidate. I'm confident that McCain would govern like an older, more forgetful Bush who actually cares a little more, but who is also less in touch with the world I live in. I'm also confident that Obama would be a vast improvement over our current administration and the frightful notion of a McCain administration, even with a veto-proof majority in Congress. That's why I haven't joined the "hue and cry" over Obama's G.E. positioning. I focus much more on message control and communications, and if it weren't for Jesse Jackson, last week would've been another smash!

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In order for him to do anything, he needs a landslide and huge coattails, which will happen with moving to the center.

Have I told you today that I love you dearly? :)

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Awww, gee. Love you too.

Hi Michael, me too.

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Hi Amelie. Awww, now I'm really getting embarrassed. Love you too.

Michael,

What many people fail to acknowledge is the party has maxed out its expansion potential in liberal districts. Just about all of the 2006 pickups were in centrist districts, There are no liberal districts out there that are currently being held by Republicans. The middle is the only place left where we can take away from the Republicans. We would be foolish not to go after them.

I think it was an old time bank robber name Willie Sutton who, when asked why he robbed banks replied: "because that is where they keep the money". If we are to continue to expand our majorities we have to rob from the middle.

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I agree with all your observations liam. The interesting thing in my opinion is that obama is not nearly as die hard liberal as people believe. I always thought that he was more moderate and middle of the road, which is a good thing for national office. Also, the dem party needs to tack a little to the center as you pointed out. It is a fine line though.

Look at what happened in the 90's with the massive seat losses under the clintons. I think part of the reasons for the losses is that the clintons and republicans marginalized the dems in congress, resulting in seat losses. It was the dlc problem. The dems don't have to go that far, but just tack a little, especially on social issues. On social issues the dems and the country want the status quo, not radical change, which shouldn't be a problem for the dem party. Also, the country wants responsible and efficient government, which shouldn't be a problem either. It's message that is critical and I think the dems get it for once.

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This "middle" stuff doesn't say anything. What is "middle"? What's actually happened in many areas is that formerly Republican suburbs are trending Democratic because of concerns with quality of life issues like having world class education and health care.

What Dems do that is so totally stupid is to find some Republican issue like guns and try to cozy up to that instead of exploiting their own issues like education and health care.

Also, if you look at the success Obama has had in the nothern plains, you are looking at the area of the country that by viture of geography is naturally more isolationist than the south or the coasts. This is not pro-war country. This is patriotic country but it's Chuck Hagel's kind of patriotic.

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They aren't cozying up to guns, they are taking the issue off the table. They can't ignore it, because the stupid right-wing media always asks them wtf their position is on guns. I hate guns and want them banned, but I recognize it won't happen and will only cost dems votes. Look what happened to gore. Why take a losing position to cost votes and prevent the things that dems and people want like education and healthcare? It doesn't make sense. By the way, how do you think obama would be doing in the mountain west if he was anti-gun?

I would add to the suburb list retirement issues. People are scared about that as well and the republicans have no answers.

Again, I say neutralize the social issues, because that's all republicans run on and maximize your message on economic issues, which dems are doing. That's what I would call "moving to the middle."

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I think that we really need to look at the state to state polls rather than the national polls like Newsweek and tracking polls like Gallup and Rasmussen.

I don't trust the national polls so much particularly Newsweek.

I'm thinking Montana?

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"We the citizens of the United States of America have the ultimate responsibility to elect the " Right Candidate" to lead our nation, out of our huge present and future internal and external challenges as well as opportunities. This is to prevent depression and isolation in-spite of being the only superpower in the world morally, democratically, economically, and militarily.

We need to consider the "critical qualities and characteristics" of our presumptive presidential nominees at the time we vote.

In my personal and professional opinion the critical considerations are as under:


1. Calm, cool, and collected " temper " [ Presidential Temperament ].
2. Sound and sustained "Judgment and Caliber".
3. "Thought-fullness and togetherness" of purpose and positions.
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Stay informed, stay involved, and stay engaged. Do not allow some partisan media, pundits, pollsters, and perpetual political opinion makers effect your vote in the wrong direction.

Don't be effected and duped by "Psychological Terrorism" that is afflicted upon you all the time.

Long live U.S.A and its diverse but democratic people.

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The Mcfuddle campaign has to be worried for many reasons. Lest we not forget, Mcfuddle was barely able to get 70% + in the GOP primaries when he had no opposition. The enthuasism factor is killing McFuddle's appeal and I don't see him gaining in that at all. The GOP convention follows Obama's and I forsee major depression setting in on them....

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For everyone and anyone interested in the inside the Beltway take on this, read Chris Cilizza's column in the Post. It's typical Chris. Which is to say, no matter the particular set of circumstances, it's always going to be a problem for the Democrat.

Not surprisingly, Chris makes no mention of individual state polls. Only national polls.

Link: Chris Cilizza on why the fact that Obama is still ahead indicates that McCain is going to win this thing, or something like that

Shorter Chris Cilizza: the Newsweek poll says it all. McCain is going to win, and Obama is flubbing the campaign.

When I first saw this poll, I got my Dakotas confused and assumed it was North Dakota. SOUTH Dakota?? Really!?!?!

A 50 state strategy is going to be very expensive. Give until it hurts. Give to make up for those who have decided to withold money and have lost sight of the big picture. Give your time. Work like he's 10 points down. Slaying dragons is no easy task. McCain may make seem weak but the party backing him up sure ain't.

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Chris Cillizza should know that general election polls mean absolutely NOTHING. It's the state polls that are most important.

The 50 State Strategy works. Barack Obama and Howard Dean have been superb in implementing this strategy.


Mn Obama (D) 54%, McCain (R) 37%
IA Obama (D) 51%, McCain (R) 41%
SD McCain (R) 47%, Obama (D) 43%
CO Obama (D) 47%, McCain (R) 43%

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I'm fairly certain that Alabama and Utah will vote for McCain. Wyoming, Idaho, and Oklahoma are good bets too. Most likely Tennessee.

The rest seem to be in play this year.

Wow!

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