McCain Spends $1M Campaigning Without Rival In Mich.

The stumbling McCain campaign it appears has been managing to lose a race against no one in a critical general election state, despite spending more than $500,000 per week since May 28th on TV ads there. The presumptive Republican nominee has had months to campaign without formal opposition in Michigan, a state he desperately hopes he can win, because Barack Obama has only recently returned after a ten-month forced absence courtesy the DNC. Despite the glaring discrepancy, three recent polls find the candidates deadlocked in the state -- further evidence that the McCain campaign fumbled critical campaigning and fundraising opportunities during the four-month Clinton and Obama slugfest and is now spending furiously to make up lost ground.

According to the Detroit Free Press, two Michigan polls taken in the past month put McCain up by four percentage points, within the margin of error. A third poll, released on Monday, shows Obama leading by three-points. Although Michigan has gone Democratic in every presidential contest since 1988, Republicans see a rare opportunity to clinch the state's 17 electoral votes in November; but the McCain camp should hardly be pleased with its performance.

McCain's recent Michigan "air" campaign consists of two statewide TV ads per week, an ad buy that's belly socking the already wheezing campaign. The $500,000 figure were provided by Rich Robinson, executive director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. Barack Obama, by contrast, has yet to air a single statewide TV ad there -- or to air general election ads in any other state for that matter.

Not bad for a candidate running competitively within the margin of error in the three most recent statewide polls. Obama's new-style distributed small-donor fundraising machine is shaping up to be a model for future campaigns, but that machinery may be all the more powerful for being balanced against equally impressive carefully weighed spending.

Comments

[Forsetti]

As a MI resident, I see McCain carrying the more conservative, Western and Northern parts of the state but the rest will go for Obama. Prediction as of today-Obama 54% McCain 42%

[XME]

I sure hope you're right!

[MiddleRoadLiberal]

I can't think of anything more obvious to say about Michigan politics. Of course he'll win the majority of the western and northern regions. However, Michigan will always be blue. Especially in the year of the first black candidate and an old white guy.

[Forsetti]

There are still some bad feelings from MI Dems who do think Obama slighted them during the whole primary process. If McCain selects Romney as his VP then MI might be a lot closer than expected.

[Soule23]

As an uncharacte­ristically liberal northern Michigander, I think that you might be pleasantly surprised. I've heard an amazing number of disenchanted Republicans talking about how they will be running to the polls to cast their votes for Obama.