Barack Obama would be the best candidate to nominate to expand our base in the West and keep such blue states as Oregon and Washington BLUE in November. He has consistently in several polls showed more strength in the South than Sen. Clinton. We want a candidate who will force McCain to spend time and money on states that he wouldn't ordinarily need to. Here is a rundown of poll numbers from several western states in the last three weeks:
Alaska:
Yes, we probably won't win it (the last Dem to do so was LBJ in '64), but Obama is making it a close. McCain leads Obama by only 48-43. However he trounces Hillary 54-36.
California:
Both of our candidates should win the Golden state, but again, it looks like Obama is the one with the larger lead. Obama leads McCain by 53-38; meanwhile Hillary leads by half that amount, 46-39.
Colorado:
We should also get a boost from holding our convention in this state. Right now Obama and McCain are tied in the most recent polling 46-46. However, McCain leads Hillary 52-38.
Montana:
The last Dem to win Montana was Bill Clinton in '92, thanks to Ross Perot. We have a popular Dem governor who will help us. While it's probably unlikely we will win it, Obama is competitve with McCain. McCain leads Obama 48-43. Meanwhile, Clinton loses Montana 54-36.
Nevada:
Both our candiates are leading McCain, but Obama's lead is a bit larger, 45-41, while Hillary is up 44-43.
New Mexico:
Obama leads McCain 45-42, while McCain leads Hillary 46-43.
Oregon:
Oregon has gone Democratic in every presidential election since 1988. Currently Obama leads McCain 48-42, while Hillary loses to McCain 46-40.
Washington:
Like Oregon, Washington has gone Democratic since '88, but most recent polling gives Obama a 48-43 point lead, while McCain is ahead of Hillary 46-43.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/older_content/home/most_recent_articles/most_recent_articlesFurthermore, I think if Obama picked somebody like Gov. Richardson as a running mate, I think it would cause McCain to spend time and money not only on these western states, but his own state of Arizona and even--Texas.
And it isn't only here that Obama is running better than Hillary but polls in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota indicate that Obama is either tied or ahead of McCain while Hillary is behind McCain. For instance, the most recent Iowa Rasmassen poll has Obama up by four points, while Hillary loses to McCain by 15-points.