SALON

Monday, Oct 29, 2012 9:15 AM UTC

5 things to watch for in the campaign homestretch

By

Topics: From the Wires,

5 things to watch for in the campaign homestretchRepublican vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., makes a point as Republican presidential candidate former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney applauds at a campaign rally at the Marion County Fairgrounds in Marion, Ohio, on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Mike Munden) (Credit: AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Five things to watch for in the final week of the presidential race between President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney:

1. SANDY: The Superstorm barreling up the East Coast is threatening several important battleground states — Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio and New Hampshire. Already it’s caused both candidates and their running mates to shuffle campaign travel schedules. Widespread power outages are likely, meaning weary voters in the storm’s path may get a reprieve from the TV ads and automated calls flooding their homes. Beyond that, it’s unclear just how much impact the storm will have on the race.

2. GOVERNING OBAMA: Obama has spent months trying to balance his re-election bid with running the government. Now his official job is beckoning — just when his campaign needs him the most, with little more than a week before the election. It provides Obama with an opportunity to show leadership in real time. But it also presents risks — and if he’s not careful, Obama could open himself up to criticism that he’s putting politics over safety.

3. EXPANDING THE MAP?: Mindful that he has fewer paths to reach the 270 Electoral College votes needed for victory, Romney advisers are considering sending Romney, running mate Paul Ryan or both to Minnesota. The state hasn’t gone Republican in the presidential race since 1972, but recent polling shows a tighter race there than most anticipated. Obama is seeking to defend historically Democratic turf, dispatching Vice President Joe Biden to campaign Thursday in Pennsylvania.

4. ALL ABOUT OHIO: Polls are showing a tightening race in the all-important battleground state. Obama has a significant edge in the early vote, and has a stronger get-out-the-vote organization than Romney. The president can lose the state and still reach the magic number. It’s hard to see how Romney wins without Ohio; he’d have to cut into traditionally Democratic territory — where he trails Obama in polling — to make up for the 18 votes Ohio offers.

5. JOBS REPORT: The final unemployment rate report comes Friday — just four days before Election Day. The economy remains voters’ No. 1 concern, and in the final week both candidates are pitching themselves as the strongest steward for a nation slowly recovering from the recession. Romney seized on last week’s latest snapshot of economic growth that showed the U.S. recovery remains tepid. Expect more of the same Friday.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 0 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: So long, Sookie Stackhouse

Recommendations