dcpolitico's Blog

    Hillary Clinton has withdrawn from the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, so the focus is now on the John McCain-Barack Obama showdown in November. The speculation has already begun over fundraising, strategy and the electoral battlegrounds.
    It’s time for the media to break out the blue and red maps. Many predict that McCain will win if he can hold onto the 31 states won by President Bush in 2004. Obama must hold the blue states won by John Kerry and try to grab one or more of the states that were in the GOP column four years ago.
    Among the states Dems will target:  Florida, Ohio, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado and Virginia
    McCain will attempt to grab such states as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and New Hampshire from the blue column.
    But the same battleground states that were key in 2004 will once again be at the center of the drama.
    The Hillary Clinton factor will be in play in these states: Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The Democrats have already kissed off Florida with their heavy- handed treatment of the state delegation. In some ways, it will all boil down to Ohio and Pennsylvania. Working class voters, the backbone of Clinton’s support, will determine the winner. There’s no guarantee they will stay in the Democratic camp.

Tom DiBacco