Wisconsin
Good news out today on the polling front -- Quinnipiac is out with polls from Colorado, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, and all four show gains for Sen. John McCain!
McCain has moved slightly ahead in Colorado, and is now only two points back in Minnesota, and four points back in Michigan. He still trails by 11 points in Wisconsin, but has made gains there too:
Arizona Sen. John McCain has inched ahead of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in Colorado; come within inches in Minnesota and narrowed the gap in Michigan and Wisconsin, according to four simultaneous Quinnipiac University polls of likely voters in these battleground states, conducted in partnership with The Wall Street Journal and washingtonpost.com and released today.
Voters in each state say energy policy is more important than the war in Iraq. And by margins of 22 to 31 percentage points, voters in each state support offshore oil drilling, and by seven to 12-point margins, drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge.
Sen. McCain has picked up support in almost every group in every state, especially among independent voters and men voters. The Republican now leads Obama among independent voters in Michigan and Minnesota. Overall results show:
* Colorado: McCain is up by a nose 46 - 44 percent, compared to a 49 - 44 percent Obama lead June 26;
* Michigan: Obama tops McCain 46 - 42 percent, compared to a 48 - 42 percent lead last time;
* Minnesota: Obama edges ahead 46 - 44 percent, compared to a 54 - 37 percent Obama lead;
* Wisconsin: Obama leads McCain 50 - 39 percent, compared to 52 - 39 percent."Sen. Barack Obama's post-primary bubble hasn't burst, but it is leaking a bit. It's been a good month for Sen. John McCain. His movement in these key states, not large except for Minnesota, jibes with the tightening we are seeing in the national polls," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
"The good news for McCain is that he has improved his standing in Colorado and Michigan, two states that are critical to each man's strategy. Obama wants to break through in the Rocky Mountain and Southwestern states that have been going Republican for decades. McCain sees recently Democratic Michigan as his top takeaway target," Brown added.
"One reason for McCain's progress may be the energy issue. The results show increased support for additional drilling - which McCain supports and Obama opposes. Roughly one in ten voters say they have changed their minds and now favor drilling because of the jump in energy prices. They support Obama, but with voters saying that the energy issue is now more important to their presidential vote than is the war in Iraq, this group represents an opportunity for the Republican.
To put this in perspective, Minnesota has only voted Republican once since 1956 (in 1972 when Nixon won 49 states). Michigan has not voted Republican since 1988, and Wisconsin not since 1984. For McCain to be within 2 points in Minnesota, and 4 points in Michigan right now is astounding, especially considering the non-stop positive press Obama has received for over 1 1/2 months now, since clinching the nomination against Hillary.
This adds an interesting element to the VP decision for McCain. Pawlenty might be enough to put McCain over the top in Minnesota, and Romney might be enough to do the same in Michigan. I'm sure the McCain Campaign is trying to analyze which is the better bet.
Here is a local news report previewing Sen. John McCain's appearance in Milwaukee, WI, today, April 16, 2008, where he will speak at an economic summit.
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Sen. John McCain began the work of exposing Barack Obama for the far-left, liberal, "empty suit" that he is, following his convincing wins in Wisconsin and Washington state last night. McCain made several direct statements about Obama, but without actually using his name! McCain delivered 12-minute remarks that were concise, pointed, and effective, while Obama's speech last night, after his wins, lasted 45 minutes, delievered in a rambling style that left me thinking - "He has fallen in love with the sound of his own voice." The contrast could not have been more stark, which is what will be true of this Fall's election.
John McCain scored convincing wins in Wisconsin and Washington state Tuesday, moving closer to locking up the GOP nomination. McCain is still short of the 1,191 necessary delegates to clinch the nod, but the decisive margin with which he defeated Mike Huckabee in both states offered evidence that he’s beginning to consolidate support from the party base.
McCain defeated Huckabee by 18 percent in Wisconsin and, with votes still being counted, appeared on his way to winning Washington by over 20 percent. read more »
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John McCain has scored a huge win tonight in the Wisconsin GOP Primary! With 75% of the vote counted, McCain leads Mike Huckabee 54% - 37%. Here are the details, provided by the Washington Post:
Sen. John McCain logged another victory over former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee on Tuesday in Wisconsin, where he appeared to be matching his rival among conservative voters, who previously shunned his candidacy.
McCain slogged through 18 inches of snow in 3-degree Wisconsin weather in the morning. But as the votes were counted, the senator from Arizona was already celebrating in Ohio, which will join Texas in holding a primary in two weeks.
"I will be our party's nominee for president of the United States," McCain declared to supporters, acknowledging that outright for the first time and promising to "wage a campaign with determination, passion and the right ideas for strengthening our country."
He immediately turned his fire on Democrats, particularly Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), dismissing an "eloquent but empty call for change" as "no more than a holiday from history."
In early exit polls, conservatives split evenly. It was a stark improvement for McCain, who has struggled to counter Huckabee's appeal among evangelicals and other GOP base voters. He also won convincingly among Republicans.
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Here is video of remarks made by Sen. John McCain following his big victory in the Wisconsin GOP Primary tonight, February 19, 2008:
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Here is a video report from WTMJ4-Milwaukee on John McCain campaigning in Brookfield, Wisconsin, February 19, 2008.
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Here is a video report from WFRV-TV in Green Bay on John McCain's speech in Appleton, WI, on February 18,2008, just ahead of the Wisconsin Primary. McCain's campaign themes of national security, conservative Supreme Court appointments, and lower taxes are clearly evident.
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New polls out by Public Policy Polling in Wisconsin have Barack Obama and John McCain leading ahead of Tuesday's Wisconsin's primaries. Here are the numbers on the GOP side:
50% John McCain
39% Mike Huckabee
6% Ron Paul
Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and John McCain (R-AZ) are ahead of their rivals by double digits in Wisconsin, according to a the latest Public Policy Polling survey.
Obama leads Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) in the state, 53 percent to 40 percent. Seven percent of voters surveyed said they were undecided.
Among Republicans, McCain outpaced former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee 50 percent to 39 percent. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) received 6 percent and undecided voters accounted for 5 percent.
The results are based on surveys of 822 likely Democratic primary voters and 654 likely Republican primary voters on February 16 and 17. Margin of error is 3.4 percentage points for Democrats and 3.8 percentage points for Republicans.
Wisconsin's primaries are on Tuesday. The state has 92 Democratic and 40 Republican delegates at stake.
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Here is a local news report from WISN-Milwaukee on John McCain's day of campaigning across Wisconsin on February 15. McCain is shown speaking in Oshkosh, La Crosse, and finishing in Milwaukee. Among other things, McCain says if he is President we will never surrender to terrorists, and he would cut taxes on the American people. He also vowed to fight for every state in the November election, not ceding any state to the Demcrats.
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John McCain will speak in Appleton, Wisconsin on Monday, February 18, on the eve of the Wisconsin Primary:
APPLETON — Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign confirmed Saturday that he will campaign in Appleton on Monday.
McCain, R-Ariz., the presumptive Republican nominee for president, will speak at the Outagamie County Republican Party’s Lincoln Day Dinner, which will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel in downtown Appleton.
Jack Voight of Appleton, a former Wisconsin state treasurer who is serving as the local contact, said tickets are $35 each and can be purchased from him through him until 3 p.m. Sunday. Voight said he can be reached at 920-475-0777.
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