Obama & Romney focus campaigning in swing states

WWLP.COM

Lynn Barry

Updated: May 4, 2012 1:50 PM

As the presidential campaign, shifts into general election mode, notice where the candidates are focusing their campaigning:  key battleground or swing states that could go either way.

If a state is solidly Democratic like Massachusetts or solidly Republican like Alabama, the presidential candidates aren’t going to waste time and resources there.  If it’s already sewn up, why go there?

Notice where the candidates have been recently.  President Obama and Mitt Romney both making appearances in Virginia this week.  Obama won Virginia in 2008 but the Republicans are hoping to win it back this year.

Florida and Ohio are the two big battleground states and loaded with electoral votes.  The President has made repeated trips to that state.

New Hampshire which has voted Democratic in recent presidential elections is the only swing state here in New England.

Romney is eyeing it this year.   He was in Portsmouth this week and also has a home in the state.  It went to Obama four years ago, as did North Carolina, which has traditionally voted Republican.

And note how the parties National Conventions cities are often chosen for strategic reasons.  The Republicans will hold their’s in Tampa, Florida in August, a key state. And the Democrats, will gather in Charlotte, North Carolina, in September, a state they’re trying to hold on to.

Here in Massachusetts, particularly in Western Massachusetts, it’s highly unlikely we’ll see Obama or Romney stopping by for a visit this year.  Better to try New Hampshire!

 

 

 

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