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McCain camp sees gold in Dem results |
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By Sam Youngman
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Posted: 05/07/08 07:37 PM [ET] |
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There is a silver lining in the Democratic primaries for Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) — a high percentage of Democratic fallout voting going to the presumptive Republican nominee.
In a widely circulated memo, Rick Davis, McCain’s campaign manager, writes that “the competitive nature of the Democratic primary contests has provided our campaign with a deep pool of data about the primary electorate in a wide variety of states.”
Davis writes under the assumption that Democratic front-runner Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) will be the nominee, and he predicts a scenario that will give already anxious Democrats more cause to worry.
“If and when Sen. Obama becomes the official nominee, Democratic primary voters may not form a tight coalition immediately,” Davis wrote. “Data to date suggest Democratic primary voters will not blindly support Sen. Obama.”
In North Carolina, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Ohio, Davis appears confident that McCain can peel off as much as 20 percent of Democratic support.
Supporters of both Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) insist that the party will unify despite high anxiety among some party officials that the length and tone of the nomination battle is having a polarizing effect on Democrats.
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