This morning President Obama’s campaign indicated they are going on the air in Pennsylvania and sending Joe Biden to the state trying to protect a state that just one week ago was considered to be safe ground. One possible reason? The enormous GOP edge in absentee ballot returns in the state, creating an enormous and unexpected hole for the President’s campaign to dig out of.
In 2008 the GOP edged the Democrats by just 2% in absentee returns. As of today the GOP’s lead is 18.8% — a 16.9% bump in a state Obama won by 10% in 2008. Republicans have turned in 55.2% of the absentee ballots to date while the Democrats have returned just 36.4%.
The Romney Victory team has been on the ground in Pennsylvania for months with over 60 staff and dozens of offices. We have made over 5 million volunteer voter contacts including over 1 million volunteer door knocks across Pennsylvania. That voter contact is paying off in the absentee ballot returns and clearly the President’s campaign sees it in their numbers. That’s why they are playing defense in the Keystone state as Governor Romney’s momentum allows us to expand the map.
PENNSYLVANIA AB RETURNS
| |||||
Party
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2008 AB Votes Cast
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2012 AB Votes Cast
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Change
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DEM
|
132,170
|
44.70%
|
42,013
|
36.42%
|
-8.28%
|
REP
|
137,850
|
46.62%
|
63,717
|
55.24%
|
+8.62%
|
TOTAL
|
295,659
|
+1.92%
|
115,346
|
+18.82%
|
+16.90%
|
