Obama targeting GOP's territory
Campaign seeks big shift in vote
SARASOTA, Fla. - Much has been made about the inroads Barack Obama has made in traditionally Republican states.
But the really interesting story behind that success is Obama's push to close the margins with John McCain in regions that have long given Republicans oodles of votes.
Obama, as he tries to win red states and swing states, has put a big premium not just on increasing turnout among his reliable constituencies, such as urban liberals, young voters, and African-Americans.
If Obama wins on Tuesday, it will be in large part because he will have closed the gap in places McCain was positioned to win.
Robert Gibbs, one of Obama's senior advisers, said the idea is to find places where Democrats have won 20 percent of the vote, and increase that to 25 percent, or increase a 15 percent tally to 20 percent.
"If you can do that, you're changing those underlying numbers in a big way," Gibbs told reporters after an Obama rally yesterday that drew more than 13,000 to Ed Smith Stadium, the spring training home of the Cincinnati Reds.
"We look at some of these regions differently than traditional campaigns have," Gibbs added.
Indeed, Democratic operatives say John F. Kerry in 2004 focused on increasing turnout among reliable voters, and often left huge swaths of states untapped.
Sarasota is somewhat representative of what Obama is trying to do, though it's not a blow-out region for Republicans. President Bush won by about seven percentage points in 2000 and nine points in 2004.
In his push for Florida, Obama is also drawing heavily on the fond memories here of the Bill Clinton years, and not just in terms of economic policy.
Clinton himself campaigned with Obama on Wednesday night outside Orlando, Hillary Clinton has been here on Obama's behalf, and Al and Tipper Gore are slated to campaign here today in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. Perhaps it's fitting that the Gores are in Florida, the setting for their election nightmare in 2000, on Halloween.
Scott Helman can be reached at shelman@globe.com. 