McCain 'pulling back' from MI
Posted: Thursday, October 02, 2008 4:49 PM by Carrie Dann
From NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Carrie Dann
Politico's Jonathan Martin was the first out of the gate to report that the McCain campaign is expected to withdraw staff and television ads from battleground state Michigan, where the Arizona senator has lagged in recent polls by as much as double digits.
Campaign workers will be relocated to more competitive battlegrounds like Wisconsin as well as Ohio and Florida, two states that went for Bush in the past two elections
Although the shift is being characterized as a "pullout," sources in the state confirm to NBC News that radio ads were launched in the state today, and they characterize the move as more of a "pull back."
A spokesman for the Michigan Republican Party also told NBC that the state party received a phone call from the RNC informing them of the decision at noon today.
McCain was scheduled to hold a campaign event next week in Plymouth, Michigan. City manager Paul Sincock was contacted by the campaign to tentatively schedule the event on Tuesday; he was informed yesterday morning that it would be cancelled and "possibly" rescheduled.