Candidates turn to battleground states, such as Iowa

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By Ed Tibbetts | Friday, September 5, 2008 12:27 AM CDT | () comments

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Bringing tens of thousands of Republican faithful to their feet, presidential nominee John McCain claimed his party’s presidential nomination Thursday and sent the general election campaign into its final phase with a pledge to reform a government his party has mostly controlled for the last eight years.

Ending two weeks of back-to-back conventions, the political campaigns now will center their fire on a menu of battleground states, Iowa included. But where McCain has at times had an uneven relationship with the Hawkeye State, Republican leaders say the convention – and especially his surprising pick for vice president, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin – has repositioned him for a run at its seven electoral votes.

“I think that there’s a good chance that McCain can carry Iowa,” said U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

Enthusiasm among Iowa delegates for the Arizona senator has risen appreciably, to the point that some who conceded measured support before now are pledging to work hard for the ticket.

Grassley also said that the ticket has not only brought conservatives on board but can appeal to Reagan Democrats and independents in the state.

With two months to go before the election, Democratic nominee Barack Obama leads Iowa in the polls. A CNN survey released Wednesday said the Illinois senator leads McCain 55 percent to 40 percent among registered voters in the state. The poll was conducted from last Sunday to Tuesday.

The gap may explain the comments top officials from both campaigns made to Iowa delegates at their respective conventions.

In Denver, the chief of staff for the Obama campaign was noticeably optimistic about the Democrats’ chances in Iowa. “We believe today we carry Iowa. We feel pretty good about Iowa. We need a lot of help here, but we feel great about it,” Jim Messina said last week.

Charlie Black, a top strategist for McCain, was more measured when he spoke to Iowa Republicans on Wednesday. “You’re a classic swing state. It’s going to be close and I truly believe we can carry Iowa,” he said.

“If we win Iowa, we’re going to win the general election,” he predicted.

Four years ago, President Bush won Iowa by pushing the limits on Republican turnout in the western part of the state while trimming the margins by which he lost to Al Gore in 2000.

Gore won Iowa by 4,000 votes eight years ago. Bush won by 10,000 in 2004.

Since then, however, Democrats have built a huge lead in voter registration, and Obama has blanketed the state with campaign offices and volunteers. He also can claim a reservoir of support left over from his yearlong pursuit of Iowans before the January caucuses.

McCain, as in 2000, largely bypassed the state this year.

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack downplayed on Thursday the idea that Palin changes the equation for McCain in Iowa.

He echoed Democratic criticism that her selection as a running mate was done too hastily and to appease social conservatives who occupy an especially strong segment of the Republican Party in Iowa.

“My concern is the process and it appears he made a gut decision to capitulate to the right wing of the party, and I believe in Iowa and across the country elections are won in the middle,” he said.

McCain officials say they fully vetted Palin.

Already, Republican officials are eager to get her to the state. Nearly as many people watched her speech on television Wednesday as saw Obama’s a week ago. Her appeal to the party base also was clear from the thunderous applause she got at the Xcel Energy Center Wednesday night.

Vilsack, however, made clear the Democrats will seek to undercut her among Democratic women and independents. He called her position on abortion “extreme.” Palin opposes abortions except in instances when the mother’s life is at risk.

Independents, in particular, are an especially strong piece of the equation in eastern Iowa and swing counties like Scott County.

Grassley said that winning the state still will in large part hinge on McCain’s willingness to campaign in Iowa, much as Bush did in 2004.

Bush came to the state several times four years ago, part of a Midwest campaign that also included heavy courting of Wisconsin voters. Bush was in Iowa the weekend before the election with a trip to Sioux City.

“Bush came to Iowa several times,” Grassley said. “If he hadn’t he wouldn’t have won Iowa.”

McCain needs to show up, too. And, Grassley said, be himself. “I think it’s McCain being McCain.”

Ed Tibbetts can be contacted at (563) 383-2327 or etibbetts@qctimes.com.