McCain Pulls Out of Michigan

Earlier today, the McCain campaign confirmed an earlier report that it would be pulling its resources out of Michigan, essentially conceding the state and its 17 electoral votes to Barack Obama.

McCain will pull his TV ads in Michigan, stop sending out campaign literature in the mail there, and send his staff to states where he thinks they have a better chance of picking up electoral votes, including the battleground states of Wisconsin, Ohio and Florida.

"Operations will be scaled back" in Michigan, said McCain political director Mike DuHaime on a conference call with reporters. "It's been the worst state of all the states that are in play... It's the obvious state, in my perspective, to come off the list."

This announcement came after McCain's numbers in Michigan have dropped significantly--he was down by double digits in the last two Michigan polls. It is an expensive state to advertise in, and the McCain campaign believes it can use that money more effectively elsewhere.

Originally, the McCain campaign thought they could pick the state off, given its dissatisfaction with its current Democratic governor, Jennifer Granholm and his previous success in the state during the 2000 primaries.

Now, I think this was smart. The McCain campaign is starting to realize that it has to play some defense--especially in states like Virginia, Colorado, Ohio, and Florida. But this drastic move shows that they are having a hard time putting traditionally blue states in play. I'm actually surprised that he hasn't pulled out of Minnesota and Wisconsin already.