Tea Bird

McCain

McCain needs to win Pennsylvania, Wisconsin or Minnesota

By matt carter ⋅ October 2, 2008 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

Politico spoke with McCain staffers to see where they see their chance to get to 270 electoral votes with Michigan now off the map.

McCain now must win Pennsylvania, Wisconsin or Minnesota in order to get enough electoral votes to win the presidency, his campaign says. 

Those were considered swing states in 2000 and 2004, but George W. Bush lost them both times. 

“Our ability to pick off one of those three states is where our fortunes are largely held,” a McCain official said. “These are states where Barack Obama is on the defense.” 

They’re also confident that Obama won’t pick off any more of the states that Bush carried in 2004.

Recent polls have showed Obama running strong in some states Bush won in 2004. But the McCain official said the campaign is confident: “We feel strongly that we’re going to win in Florida, Missouri and the traditional Republican states of Virginia and North Carolina.”

Tags: McCain, minnesota, Pennsylvania, wisconsin