Page 8 - Swing Area News Today

This is easton town center. if you know columbus, ohio, you know easton town center. if you like to shop or eat, you will probably find it here. columbus is the state capital and the largest city in ohio. its a growing area. neap the suburbs. you have ohio state university and financial sector. a conservative bloc of voters but most people, most republicans will tell you they are moderate suburbanites. in franklin county, part of the four county metro area, this is the largest cache of votes for...

The returns tonight if you look from four years ago, the darker yellow here, huckabee counties, the upstate, greenville, the largest republican area, if you will, with the most republican primary voters. he did well there, but it was splinternd and he didnt have a huge margin. mccain did very have well across the coast, think charleston and myrtle beach. translate the numbers to four years later, thats where mitt romney has to be doing well. not just winning the counties, that most expect him to...

Central florida, but some political experts say the 132-mile stretch from tampa to day tone that beach known as the i-4 corridor may be the most important path to the white house. stave harry michigans along interstate 4 today, how are you, steve? good morning. >> reporter: when you talk to political scientists about this road behind me, you can see just how excited they get. they say the people who live along i-4 could determine not just florida, but the entire presidential election. it may be ...

The i4 highway across central florida from tampa to daytona beach, 132 miles of old, young, rural, urban, but above all independent voters who swing. history shows they swing with the winner. >> its the swing area of the swing state. florida is the largest swing state in presidential elections, and the i4 corridor helps determine which way florida votes. >> reporter: president obama got strong working class white voters in 2008. gun smith steve allen says the bloom is off the rose. >> what appea...

2008? he had strong support from independent voters. thats in many ways what this is about politically right now and where the president has positioned himself post the november election to the country, to say, look at the poll and it reflects this. im much more of a pragmatist and moderate to shed the idea of a more liberal activist kind of democrat whos pushing health care reform, big government stimulus, more financial regulation. hes done all of those things. but now hes trying to attack in ...

They relate to, that his set of policies goals arent ones that they agree with and something weve seen all over this poll with the president. he has lost the entire middle of the country and the electorate both in ideology, which is what i just described, but also grow graphically. were seeing the midwest is where were seeing his numbers slip. at first it started in the south and the west. >> yeah. >> two areas that were, you know, basically much more conservative over the years, and so they are...

>> you talk about tort reform, we talked about cutting entitlements. im okay if we dont go to space. somethings got to give somewhere. if you ask me to choose between education, defending our country and you and i having a condo on mars some day, i can pass on the condo. >> $6 billion, i believe it is, in nasa, increase in their budget because the president wants to go to mars. and most political observers would say, because you cannot politically cut nasa because the space coast is in a swing a...

Thats an affront to the president of the united states that you dont go out there and what it says is that the president being linked to him is going to hurt you in the fall. potentially hurt you and, therefore, run away from your own press and when he comes to the state, i think it is a mistake on miss carnahans part to do that. even if hes not terribly popular. and i think that obama -- the president is out there because this is a swing area for him and claire mccaskill out there. so it is -- ...

And looking ahead to the next 24, the president will go back out on the road in another swing area as he tries to keep the momentum going for health reform. with me now, capitol hill correspondent kelly odonnell, "time" magazine columnist joe klein, who wrote about the health care battle in this weeks issue and we want chris alyssa of "the washington post." joe, what do you see the momentum now as the president tries to, you know, move the needle and get closer to the 216 votes nancy pelosi need...

That look like the georgia 6. mainly in the suburban centers in the south where president trump won less than 50% in the general election. democrats hoping to capitalize on what could be the changing districts. we are seeing it in the northern tier in the country hadnt gotten yet to the suburban southern districts. folks, it is very possible the road to winning the house will go through the suburbs, atlanta, phoenix, houston, dallas, and orange county, calf. and heres what might give democrats s...