Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter on Monday remained confident about President Obama's chances to win Pennsylvania and the presidential election.
"I don't think there's any objective evidence that Mitt Romney has been able to expand that [electoral] map. I mean, the thought of him going into Pennsylvania and winning Pennsylvania is just not based in reality," said Cutter on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
When on pressed whether sending surrogates to Pennsylvania indicated that the Obama team thinks Republican presidential nominee Romney has a change to win in the state, Cutter said, "I don't think it's possible, Joe, I mean — you know, we're sending Bill Clinton in there because we're not going to take anything for granted, absolutely not."
Former President Clinton plans to rally Obama supporters in Philadelphia, Blue Bell, Pittsburgh and Scranton on Monday. The Obama campaign also put up ads in the state, while Romney made a stop in Pennsylvania on Sunday.
"[I] don't think Mitt Romney can arrive in that state after not spending any time there, not putting any resources on the ground. We've had offices all over that state and we've been on the ground there for several years. I don't think that he can go in there and make an argument in the closing days of this election and think that he's going to win that state," she added.
A poll released Saturday from
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review/Susquehanna found Pennsylvania a tie, with each candidate garnering 47 percent. However,
most polling of Pennsylvania shows Obama beating out Romney.
The Real Clear Politics polling average gives Obama a 3.9-percentage-point edge in the state.
Cutter was also optimistic about Obama's prospects in Ohio, one of the most closely watched battleground contests in the country.
"It's a close race. There's no doubt about that, but we have an advantage in critical states like Ohio: you know, no Republican has ever won the White House without going through Ohio, and we feel pretty good about where we are right now," Cutter said.
Republicans, however, claim that voter momentum and enthusiasm is on their side going into Election Day. The Republican National Committee countered Cutter's outlook on the Ohio and Pennsylvania races, citing the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review poll that showed a tie in Pennsylvania, and a University of Cincinnati poll released Monday that found the race "too close to call" in Ohio.
A Columbus Dispatch poll released Sunday, similarly showed a toss-up in Ohio. Obama had 50 percent support to 48 percent for the GOP nominee.
