Ed Cox: New York State In Play
Posted in Campaign 2008, Uncategorized on Sep 21st, 2008
Following up on my earlier report that a new poll has Obama’s lead in New York trimmed down to 5 points, Ed Cox, who heads John McCain’s New York campaign, believes the poll shows that New York State is very much in play.
The man who heads John McCain’s New York campaign says the Empire State has been very blue in the last four presidential elections with democratic candidates carrying the state by 15 to 30 percentage points.
Ed Cox says that’s about to change. He points to Barack Obama’s 18 point lead in a June Siena College poll that recently has dwindled to just more than two points. Cox calls it a sign New Yorkers are buying into McCain’s message.
“He’s a reformer, that he’s a maverick, he’s a real agent of change, he has the experience to protect and defend the people of this country in respect to national security affairs,” Cox explained. “John McCain, for all those reasons which came out at the convention and of course his nominating Governor Palin as his vice presidential candidate, all those things have put New York into play.”
Cox doesn’t believe Hillary Clinton’s influence will be enough for Obama to carry New York State. Cox says comments Clinton made during the primaries that Obama is not ready to be president will sway many of her supporters to vote for McCain.
Cox wouldn’t say if McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin, would convince Hillary supporters to consider the republican ticket. Instead he goes back to the New York senator’s earlier statements on Obama lacking experience.
“A lot of her supporters are taking her at her word on that,” he said. “They’re taking a look at both candidates and they’re coming to John McCain’s banner. It’s very gratifying to see them coming over to support John McCain.”
I’m still skeptical that New York really is in play, but it is obvious from multiple polls that Obama’s lead here has dropped significantly. This, while may not be enough to bring about a McCain victory here, does indicate a larger problem for Obama in actual battleground states, such as our neighboring states Ohio and Pennsylvania. Personally, while it is nice to see the polls close here, I’d much rather see the New York State Republican Party concentrate their GOTV resources for the presidential race down in those states.
