Thursday, October 02, 2008

McCain Pulls Out of Michigan

Obama is leading by 10 points in Michigan.
Detroit News: John McCain is ending his attempt to win Michigan, a serious blow to the Republican's presidential hopes.
A Republican source with knowledge of the move told The Detroit News that the campaign would stop airing television ads in Michigan and pull most staff and other resources from a state Republicans had once believed was within reach.
McCain campaign officials were not immediately available for comment.

Winning Michigan's 17 electoral votes, captured in the last four presidential elections by Democrats, had been a major part of McCain's campaign strategy. But recent polls have shown Michigan slipping from the Arizona Republican's grasp, including a poll by Public Policy Polling released Thursday that showed Democrat Barack Obama with a 51 to 41 percent lead in the state. A Detroit News/WXYZ Action News poll published last week put the contest at 48-38 percent, with Obama on top.
The move is likely designed to allow the McCain campaign to move resources into other states that his camp believes are still competitive. But it also means Obama's campaign can do the same, giving the Democrat who leads in most national polls a significant advantage in the final four weeks of the campaign.