Barack Obama,  John McCain,  President 2008

Barack Obama and the Western States

Barack Obama vs John McCain in the Electoral College

Graphic from Electoral-Vote.com

Marc Ambinder and the AP today are saying today that Barack Obama WILL fight for Electoral Collge votes in the Western United States.

Obama is signaling, even before the Democratic primary formally wraps up, that he intends to fight this fall for Western states that narrowly went Republican four years ago.

New Mexico, Nevada and Colorado aren’t definitely Democratic blue or Republican red. Instead, they’re known as “purple states” by political junkies.

Together, they account for only 19 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House. But those votes could be vital in a close race, particularly if Obama’s weakness among white, blue-collar voters carries over from the primary race and cuts his chance of winning some other states where Democrats usually do well.

“We’re going to fight as hard as we can in these states. We want to send the message now that we’re going to go after them and I expect to win them,” the Illinois senator said Monday.

But, let’s look at the Electoral College map.

Obama is running well in California, Oregon and Washington. These are all blue states and no surprise here. Obama will win these states and their Electoral College votes without a problem. California will only be visited by McCain and Obama for fundraising.

Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado may be up for grabs. But, ONLY Nevada and perhaps New Mexico MAY be competitive for McCain. President Bush won both states in 2004 and McCain will run well with the Hispanics in both states. His neighbor status as an Arizona Senator will help some.

Colorado has been trending blue for the last few election cycles and will be easy picking for Obama.

But, how many Electoral College votes are we discussing here? Nevada and New Mexico each have 5. 10 Electoral College votes total.

And, how many votes does Michigan have? Answer: 17 Electoral College votes.

How about Pennsylvania? Answer: 21 Electoral College votes.

How about Ohio? Answer: 20 Electoral College votes

How about Missouri? Answer: 11 Electoral College votes

Obama nor McCain will be competing over ANY Western States. The Midwest again will be the battleground for the Presidency.

Why do you think McCain today is running television ads in Michigan and Pennsylvania?