| During the course of writing the Daily Liberal Mapping Project, I started realizing what a massive impact Barack Obama is going to have on this election, both in Minnesota and states all around the country. A great article in American Prospect had some insights into how tuned-in Obama is to the 50-state strategy and races all around the country. Minnesota is no exception. In Minnesota, Obama's voter-registration and get-out-the-vote efforts could make the difference for candidates like Al Franken.
The place where Obama will have the largest impact in Minnesota is in the central cities, CD4 and CD5. These are places with extremely high percentages of Democratic voters, diverse populations, and low turnout (see maps after the break). If Obama can inspire these voters to turn out on election day, the result could be tens of thousands of additional Democratic votes. |
 
 
I think Obama will be able to do this easily. He has already shown that he can inspire record turnouts, particularly among black voters and young voters, two groups that typically have very low turnout. Furthermore, his campaign has an impressive ground game that will be in full gear on election day. If he can drive turnout to record highs in CD4 and CD5, he can fundamentally change the calculus of the Senate race.
Originally posted at the Twin Cities Daily Liberal. |
