On the AP wire today, here is an article that must be very disheartening to the GOP:
RALEIGH — Sen. John McCain’s political director said Saturday the Republican presidential nominee is increasing staff levels in North Carolina to defend a state that hasn’t gone Democratic for more than three decades.
The renewed focus underscores GOP fears that Democratic nominee Barack Obama’s aggressive strategy in North Carolina has pushed the numbers to the brink of victory.
More below the fold...
Even the lead paragraph of this article kinda lays it all out, in pretty stark terms: here is a state that hasn't gone Democratic for more than three decades. Seems to me, there is a world of meaning in such a statement, and there it is, right in the first paragraph of the article. And Obama is aware of it too, since he is appearing in N.C. today.
One key to N.C., as I have suggested in other comments, has to do with the African American vote here, as well as the number of new voters. The article points this out as well:
And the state’s large African-American population has been galvanized by Obama’s candidacy. Registrations among North Carolina African-Americans are up almost 10 percent this year while white registrations are up 4 percent.
I think the close race for governor and Elizabeth Dole's Senate seat are also potentially very good signs. The "rocking chair" guys, I suspect, will also help Barack Obama in this state, albeit indirectly.
I'm still not sure Obama will be able to pull it off in the Tarheel state, but I've been thinking for months that he has a chance to do so, ever since his phenomenal performance in the N.C. primary.