Posted on 10/20/2004 8:52:59 AM PDT by Perdogg
Kerry camp pulls plug on TV ads W.Va. spokeswoman insists that doesn't mean state was written of
John Kerry's presidential campaign has pulled advertisements from area television stations only two weeks before the election.
"I guess they figured the ads were no longer going to change the outcome of the election, so either they thought they were going to lose or they thought they had it locked up," said Bray Cary, president of West Virginia Media Holdings, which owns WOWK- TV 13.
Area television station officials said the Kerry campaign got in touch with them on Friday, and the pullout became effective Tuesday. The Bush campaign has continued to advertise.
Kerry's spokeswoman in West Virginia, Amy Shuler Goodwin, said the advertising pullout is no indication that the campaign doesn't hope to win the Mountain State.
She said the campaign is still working to shade West Virginia in the color blue that is used by networks to indicate states that have voted for the Democratic candidate.
"Our strategy to win in West Virginia has never changed," she said. "We have more than 30 staffers working in locations across the state. We'll work harder tomorrow than we did yesterday to make sure West Virginia goes blue."
Both Kerry and President Bush worked hard to secure West Virginia during the past few months, with headliners from both campaigns frequently appearing in the state.
But West Virginia has gone from a competitive swing state to one that national analysts now consider to be leaning toward Bush.
Kerry's campaign must be putting its money in bigger states such as Ohio and Florida that remain more competitive, said Neil Birch, a political scientist at West Virginia University.
"It doesn't mean they're giving up. It simply means they see other, closer, bigger targets," Birch said.
"I think what they're doing is not saying, ‘We can't win West Virginia.' They're saying, ‘We have a better chance of winning some of the other swing states.' "
He suggested the Bush campaign might also scale back its advertising in West Virginia during the final two weeks of the campaign.
"It's the fact that West Virginia is perceived to be less close and only five electoral votes," he said. "I think you'll see a decrease from the Bush side. So it's bad news for the television stations."
Area television stations still can reach into the southeastern Ohio region that remains competitive, so some stations are trying to get the Kerry campaign to reconsider.
"That's the point we're trying to make with them," said Don Ray, the general manager of WSAZ NewsChannel 3.
"The Bush campaign is a little more on the ball. They're staying put here in this market so they can capture southeastern Ohio. The Kerry campaign seems to be missing that."
There will be no slowdown in political advertising, which might be a disappointment for viewers. Other campaigns are expected to swoop in for the airtime.
Contact writer Brad McElhinny at 348-4872.
It didn't cost them much to raise the white flag. They used one of Robert Byrd's old sheets.
LOL! Damn, that was Cooold!
Why spend any money running ads at all when the MSM is willing to give sKerry all the positive coverage he wants.
See this..
Most of the West Virginia polls are still showing it fairly close.. anywhere from 2 to 4 points.
I think the internals for each campaign know what's really going on. Bush and Kerry are both advertising like crazy-men in Michigan, where polls have shown it to be a big lead for Kerry.
Bush is in better shape than the polls indicate I feel.
So far, they've written on MO and WV, former battleground states. WIsh they would write off OH!
Wish Jeb had a bigger lead for his brother. 4% is still within margin of error. I would like to see a nice 7-8% lead by the end of next week in Florida for W.
Both the KKK and Islam are known for their anti-Semitism.
I'm with you.
Interesting.
It's just not working!
It's not in the bag until you go out and vote.
I wish the Ketchup/Breck ticket (or its successor) would write off Wisconsin.
Joins the growing list of states Kerry has given up on:
Arizona
Arkansas
Louisiana
aand more to come!
Gov. Arnold is due to campaign for the President in Ohio the weekend before the election. That may help.
I would agree completely were it not for the "fraud factor".
IMO, we are being set up. The MSM is leading the country to believe that this is a tight race while at the same time the Dem machinery is setting up the biggest voter fraud movement in history.
When the election shows to be tight but in the Dem favor (despite more votes cast than there are eligible voters) they (Dem+MSM) will point their fingers at the 'whining' pubbies. (or some scenario close to that)
It's just not working!
And Ketchup Boy and Breck Girl have the nerve to call President Bush brickheaded.
Joins the growing list of states Kerry has given up on:
Arizona
Arkansas
Louisiana
aand more to come!
WVA was never in play for Kerry.
I'm telling you this, I don't think Kerry can win Ohio, Wi or Iowa either! I also think the only way he will carry PA is due to voting in the Philly area.
The mans a cuckold, and his VP's a primadonna... he won't in any state where Metrosexualism isn't considered cool.
They'll never write off Ohio, even if they know they have lost it..because if they lose Ohio they have lost the election and everyone will know it. So even if Bush is up by 10 in internals, Kerry and Dems will keep pounding Ohio hard just for show.
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