Notes from B/C'04 on Ohio

Very interesting information:

* President Bush and John Kerry remain locked in a close race in Ohio as well. The latest Columbus Dispatch poll (July 14-23) shows President Bush holding a narrow lead over John Kerry, 47% to 45%. The poll also showed that a majority of Ohio voters, 52%, approve of President Bush’s job performance. This is confirmed by the recent Strategic Vision poll (July 17-19), which showed President Bush leading Kerry by 4 points, 48% to 44%.

* The same Columbus Dispatch poll in July 2000 showed then-Governor Bush and Al Gore in a tie as well, 41% to 40%, although George Bush later went on to win the state by 4 points, 50% to 46%.

* Since March 3rd, Kerry and left-leaning 527 groups have spent over $17 million in Ohio, compared to BC '04’s $9 million. Kerry and his shadow campaign have outspent Bush-Cheney by almost a 2 to 1 margin, and have nothing to show for it - the race remains essentially tied in Ohio.

* Despite being massively outspent, President Bush is still in a very strong position in Ohio, and of the reasons is because of our tremendous grassroots organization there. Bush-Cheney '04 now has over 52,000 volunteers in Ohio. Almost two-thirds of all precincts in Ohio (7,575) have precincts chairs, including 88% of target precincts (4,964).

I would imagine we'll start seeing more from the Bush/Cheney team here soon...