Iowa GOP Spokesman: State "Still In Play," McCain Should Not Withdraw

A spokesman for the Iowa GOP tells the Huffington Post that the state should still be in play for John McCain, despite a report that aides to the Republican nominee believe the chances for winning there are "gone."

"While Iowa, New Mexico and Colorado are still officially listed as McCain target states, two top strategists and advisers tell CNN that the situation in those states looks increasingly bleak," CNN's John King reported Monday night.

But Iowa Republican Party communications director Nathan Treloar begs to differ.
"I just think that the whole activity in the state is well beyond anything that I've seen in previous elections," Treloar told the Huffington Post. "It's a testament to the hard work the McCain camp has been putting in."

So the McCain campaign isn't withdrawing resources from the state in anticipation of an impossible climb?

"No," Treloar said. "They've in fact just recently been adding resources. More offices, adding new staff."

Asked how he would regard any decision made by the McCain camp in the next 14 days to scale back its effort in Iowa, Treloar suggested he would disagree with any such move. "I definitely think that Iowa's still in play. We have the strategy laid out across the state to put it [the McCain campaigin] over the top," he said.

That confidence may not be entirely well earned, at this point. The Pollster.com average of surveys in the state has showed a consistently significant lead for Obama in the state -- and one that has only been growing since June.

None of this fazes Treloar, however. Asked what he makes of the Obama campaign's much-ballyhooed ground game in the state, he said: "I think that they definitely have lots of staff and lots of ofices. But to me, it looks like they have splashed them in [the state] with no real idea for targeting for where the votes are."