http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081001/NEWS07/810010116/1129/NewsSen. John McCain needs to win Indiana, and although he’s still favored here based on the state’s electoral history, it’s going to be close, said Del Ali, whose Research 2000 firm conducted the Tribune/WSBT poll.
“This means McCain’s got to spend time and resources in a state that he really could count on surrogates to do,” he said. “If McCain’s got to spend time in Indiana (from) Oct. 15 on, that’s an impending electoral disaster for him.”
The Indiana Republican Party has been the McCain campaign’s voice in the Hoosier state. State GOP Chairman Murray Clark said McCain is building a strong grassroots campaign in Indiana and that the party will “continue working hard for every vote.”
“Millions of dollars of nonstop negative ads from Barack Obama has helped him stay in this race,” Clark said. “Obama has been throwing low blows for some time now, and despite his bitter attacks, he still is behind.”
Obama’s Indiana press secretary, Jonathan Swain, said the poll confirms Indiana is a battleground state and “certainly is within Barack Obama’s reach in this election.”
And it would appear the Obama campaign’s presence in the traditionally Republican Hoosier state has paid off, said Sean Savage, political science professor at Saint Mary’s College in South Bend.
“McCain really hasn’t done much in Indiana,” Savage said. “The combination of all of Obama’s early investment in Indiana, his long-term activities here, and publicity and campaign visits, they’re beginning to pay off in conjunction with the economic crisis of the last two weeks or so.”
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s selection as McCain’s running mate hasn’t made a big impression here, Savage said, pointing to similar favorability rates between Palin (45 percent) and Sen. Joseph Biden, Obama’s running mate (46 percent).
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