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Politico - Maverick Wants To Paint Blue States Red

   Politico

MAVERICK WANTS TO PAINT BLUE STATES RED

By: Jonathan Martin
March 13, 2008

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Conversations with McCain backers and other Republican operatives, most of whom insisted on anonymity, reflect a party intent on altering the red state/blue state paradigm.
 
"2004 was defined by 2000," a senior McCain aide said, assessing the mostly static state-by-state strategy pursued by President Bush's two campaigns. "We're just in a very different situation, and that has given us the freedom to look at the map a lot more broadly."
 
Though still very early in the planning stages, McCain aides have begun eyeing between 20 and 25 states that could be competitive, a list that includes some places that are anything but rock-ribbed conservative. Next month, they'll make this case symbolically by sending the candidate on a different-kind-of-Republican tour into places where party members typically don't tread.
 
By virtue of his maverick brand, nontraditional stances on key issues and his Western roots, McCain may be able to compete in states that were far out of reach for Bush and that have otherwise been trending away from Republicans. This potential, say McCain strategists and other Republicans, could amount to the GOP's ace in the hole in an otherwise dismal political climate.
 
"It puts a whole new set of states in play for us," Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) said of McCain's candidacy.
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McCain's character-based appeal and his "straight talk" image has enabled him to win over primary voters who disagree with him on key issues such as the war in Iraq.
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 In fast-growing states like Colorado and Nevada, he could potentially offset unfavorable demographic trends with an appeal to Hispanic voters that a more orthodox Republican candidate with a hard-line immigration approach couldn't make. For the same reason, New Mexico, which Bush carried by a small margin after losing it by an even smaller margin in 2000, could also favor McCain.
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And then there is California.
 
"I intend to contest all over America, including the state of California," McCain told reporters when asked after his town hall meeting about his desire to move beyond the red-blue paradigm.
 
The Golden State hadn't even been mentioned in the question, but McCain wants it known that he'll compete there.
 
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