Week 5- The States that Swing

Swing states. Clumps of electoral votes that become the most pivotal during an election. It would hardly be expedient for a candidate to focus their efforts on a state that is overwhelmingly in support of their opponent. However, there are those sectors on the American map that seem to have not yet made up their minds- the swing states. A single swing state can help decide, in a tight race, the next President of the United States.
For this particular election, I'd like to discuss two swing states: Florida and our very own state of Virginia. Both are very crucial for Republican nominee John McCain, who according to political analysts needs to win Florida state in order to defeat his opponent, Barack Obama. The interesting thing is that both states have traditionally been considered solid bets for Republican support. Florida was the key state that won George W. Bush the presidency in 2000, and the state of Virginia hasn't voted for the Democratic nominee since 1964. But both are leaning (by a thin margin) towards Obama, which ought to give the McCain campaign plenty to be alarmed about. Neither are sure bets yet, however. Virginia has, after all, been consistently a conservative state and a-last-minute outpour of support could tip the tide in McCain's favor. And Florida is heavily populated with elderly citizens, who tend to also have a more conservative outlook. Despite those considerations, I predict that Obama will by election day win both states simply because he has the advantage of momentum- something that the McCain campaign is sorely in need of at this point. Obama's support seems to only be increasing, and I doubt that he will lose his hold on either state.