The 2012 presidential election is still more than 5 months away, yet here in Virginia the ads for Obama and Romney are running and transparent ads anti-Obama funded by groups like the American Petroleum Institute (that make me want to yell at the TV for their dishonesty) are piggy backing along as well. Based on an Los Angeles Times story, it is going to be a long 5 moths from now until November. It seems that Virginia is one of the "key states" and that the political ad barrage will be relentless. Here are some story highlights:
The presidential candidates have just placed their opening bets, and three states stand out as keys to the 2012 election: Ohio, Virginia and, perhaps surprisingly, Iowa.
Romney’s first TV ad of the general election campaign, which debuts Friday, will air in four states, including Ohio, Virginia and Iowa. (Notably, it repeats his pledge to “end Obamacare,” the law based on his Massachusetts model). The Romney campaign wouldn’t confirm the scope of the buy but didn’t wave off an attempt to confirm James Hohmann’s report in Politico, which listed that trio of states, plus North Carolina. President Obama included Ohio, Virginia and Iowa in his most recent buy as well.
It is practically impossible for Romney to capture the presidency without carrying Ohio and Virginia. Obama took both in 2008, and if he wins either again, he’s almost surely going to being reelected.
Of greater interest in the Romney buy, however, were the other states he’s hitting.
One is Iowa, an opportunity state for the Republican challenger. In addition to taking four larger states away from Obama (Ohio, Virginia, Florida and North Carolina), he also needs to carry at least one more smaller, Obama ‘08 state. The former governor made a campaign stop this week in Iowa, which went narrowly Republican in the 2004 presidential election, then swung to Obama in 2008.
The final state on Romney’s initial hit list, North Carolina, is the most intriguing of all. For months, Obama aides have been saying that the president is competitive in the Tar Heel State, a claim that even some Democratic strategists have regarded, in private, with skepticism. . . . . By putting ads up there (including Spanish-language radio), Romney appears to have validated the Obama camp’s optimism. As mentioned above, it’s a must-win state for Romney, and if Obama carries it again, he’ll be reelected.
For now, at least, that makes Ohio (18 electoral votes), Virginia (13) and Iowa (6) the top-tier battlegrounds in the race for 270 electoral votes. Two other Obama ad targets, Colorado (9) and Pennsylvania (20); and New Hampshire (4), where Romney is campaigning today; and North Carolina (15) rank just behind. Florida (29), the largest and most expensive swing state, will likely join the list, rounding out the eight states where the 2012 presidential election will be decided.
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