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Saturday, October 11, 2008
Is Ohio’s neighbor, West Virginia, moving toward Obama?
Ohio’s eastern neighbor, West Virginia, has only five electoral votes. But, those five electoral votes have been heavily predicted to be in John McCain’s column on Election Day.
Recent polls are showing that McCain’s lead in West Virginia is shrinking and that state may be becoming more competitive after recent weeks of negative economic news.
A CNN/Time poll in late September showed McCain with a very small lead over Obama, 50-46. A recent American Research poll taken in the first week of October shows Obama winning in West Virginia, 50-42.
West Virginia voted for President Bush twice, but voted for Bill Clinton twice as well. The state even went for Democrat Michael Dukakis in 1988.
The fact that West Virginia may be in play may explain why Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin is campaigning in St. Clairsville, Ohio, just 12 miles west of Wheeling, West Virginia, on Sunday, Oct. 12. Democrat Vice Presidential nominee Joe Biden will be in the same town on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Obama has opened 21 offices across the state.
According to CNN, Palin had planned a tour through Pennsylvania in the coming week, but just added stops throughout West Virginia.
