McCain Gets New Hampshire PR Boost
John McCain is set to earn the endorsement of the Manchester Union-Leader tomorrow, CBS News has confirmed. The conservative paper’s nod is one Republican candidates have courted for decades and will undoubtedly provide McCain’s resurgent campaign a public relations boost at the very least.
Since his campaign nearly imploded last summer, McCain has slowly rebuilt and has recently seen improvement in his poll standing, especially in New Hampshire, the site of his 2000 primary victory over George W. Bush. The most recent CBS News survey found McCain tied for second place in the state with 16 percent of support among likely GOP primary voters.
But New Hampshire is a state which has trended away from Republicans in recent years. John Kerry narrowly won the state in 2004 and Democrats have seen gains at the state and local levels in recent years. Perhaps more importantly, McCain faces stiff competition for independents – who make up about 45 percent of the electorate in the state. Those voters are largely credited with spurring McCain’s 2000 primary win, at the expense of Bill Bradley, who was challenging Al Gore in the Democratic race at the time.
One of the bigger questions of the New Hampshire contest in 2008 is which race these voters will be attracted to (independents can vote in one or the other on Election Day). Should they trend toward voting the in the high-profile battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, that could eat into McCain’s past base of support.
For a candidate who has angered conservatives in his party on issues ranging from campaign finance to immigration reform, the Union-Leader endorsement is a major coup. Whether it actually translates into any sort of support at the polls is a much more open question.
Since his campaign nearly imploded last summer, McCain has slowly rebuilt and has recently seen improvement in his poll standing, especially in New Hampshire, the site of his 2000 primary victory over George W. Bush. The most recent CBS News survey found McCain tied for second place in the state with 16 percent of support among likely GOP primary voters.
But New Hampshire is a state which has trended away from Republicans in recent years. John Kerry narrowly won the state in 2004 and Democrats have seen gains at the state and local levels in recent years. Perhaps more importantly, McCain faces stiff competition for independents – who make up about 45 percent of the electorate in the state. Those voters are largely credited with spurring McCain’s 2000 primary win, at the expense of Bill Bradley, who was challenging Al Gore in the Democratic race at the time.
One of the bigger questions of the New Hampshire contest in 2008 is which race these voters will be attracted to (independents can vote in one or the other on Election Day). Should they trend toward voting the in the high-profile battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, that could eat into McCain’s past base of support.
For a candidate who has angered conservatives in his party on issues ranging from campaign finance to immigration reform, the Union-Leader endorsement is a major coup. Whether it actually translates into any sort of support at the polls is a much more open question.
The article said that independents might be drawn to the high profile contest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Actually, they might be drawn to ANY of the Democratic candidates. Particularly to John Edwards, the candidate I am supporting, because he understands the magnitude of our problems, and why there is a disconnect between problems and solutions, and has the courage and energy to put into effect very practical and fair solutions. Do please, when you write about this coming election, which matters so much, remember that we don''t want to be shut out of our own democracy. Please don''t attempt to limit us in our choices. Thank you.
I don''t see why there isn''t more press about why liberals would rather face ANYONE but Dr. Ron Paul. Much as we''d like politics to be positive, it is in fact ruled almost entirely by negatives. For instance, what''s the biggest negative the Republican Party is facing in 2008? Iraq - a staggering 70% of people favor IMMEDIATE withdrawl from Iraq. Who is the only candidate that doesn''t have that negative? Dr. Paul, who advocates using those trillions of dollars to secure our border (perhaps against Saudis who were 20 of the 24 terrorists in 9/11) and rebuild our crumbling infrastructure which is far more worrying than the loss of Social Security. Hm, full employment, withdrawl from Iraq and a huge boost to our economy from rebuilding our infrastructure - what Democrat wants to run against that. Hence the behavior of known liberal biased network CNN, who wants us to nominate either Guiliani or Romney - both of whose negatives are so high the copy practically writes itself!
Even McCain whose philosophies anyone could admire - he will be cast as a man driven past restraint by the tortures he has had to endure. Not a pretty picture and certainly not ethical - but you have to know they will put that swift boat in the water.