Turnout records fall even in GOP-friendly states [View All]

[Xipe Totec]

Source: Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Even in reliably red states where Barack Obama has little chance of winning on Tuesday, unprecedented numbers of registrations and early votes have been tallied, and elections officials are predicting a record turnout in places where neither candidate even bothered to campaign.

An aggressive and well-financed get-out-the-vote campaign helped Obama's campaign mobilize unprecedented numbers of African-American and new voters who could help decide the presidential election by swinging states like North Carolina and Virginia to the Democrat.

But even in states like Alabama, Utah, Nebraska and Oklahoma, Republican strongholds where John McCain could post double-digit wins, Obama's candidacy helped boost registration numbers, particularly in urban areas. Republicans countered by mobilizing their own base, a process aided by McCain's vice presidential pick, Sarah Palin, who's popular among conservatives.

(snip)

But even as Obama managed to inspire Democrats in decidedly red states, Republicans had a secret weapon of their own in rallying conservative voters.

McCain's selection of Palin was critical to building enthusiasm among the party's traditional base, said Merle Black, a political scientist at Emory University in Atlanta.

"She is giving a voice to a lot of conservative voters — particularly evangelicals — in a way McCain never could do on his own," he said. "She's a heroine in the religious community."



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081104/ap_on_el_ge/red_state_turnout_1

---

Well, she's heroin to the religious community, that much I agree with.