If Ted Strickland Is Our VP, I Think Obama Starts Off With 258 Electoral College Votes [View All]

[malik flavors]

I was pretty cool to the idea of Ted Strickland as VP at first, but I've warmed up to the idea quite a bit now.

If we can assume Obama wins the 210 electoral college votes that all democrats win, and he takes Strickland as his VP he'll basically be guaranteed Ohio's 20 votes. That puts him at 230. He's also heavely favored in Iowa and with Ed Rendell, Bob Casey, Mayor Nutter, and Mayor Ravenstahl helping out it in PA I think he'll carry that state as well. So that would be 258 E.C. votes practically in the bag.

The states he'd have left to fight for to get to 270 are:

Colorado: 9 Votes
Michigan: 17 Votes
Missouri: 11 Votes
Nevada: 5 Votes
New Mexico: 5 Votes
New Hampshire: 4 Votes
Virginia: 13 Votes
Florida: 27 Votes

He's probably not going to carry Florida, Virginia, New Hampshire, or Missouri, but if he can simply win Michigan he'd win the election and Michigan is definitely leaning democratic this year.

He also has an excellent chance of getting those 12 votes by combining Colorado with either New Mexico or Nevada. But If Obama picks Strickland as his VP, I think you'll see him plant himself in Michigan and do everything he can to win that state.

2008 could all come down to the great lakes state of Michigan.

I'd also like to add that Ted Strickland is a Clinton loyalist, so he helps to bring the party back together, he recieved an "A" rating from the NRA, he's liked by working class and rural voters, and he obviously has executive experience. I don't think he has much foreign policy experience, but no VP choice is perfect. He brings Ohio and that's enough.