The Washington Post takes a look at the military vote in this years election (video at the link):
Mitt Romney is making a visit Tuesday to Reno, Nev., where he’s expected to address the annual conference of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. His trip comes one day after President Obama addressed the same summit, and as both White House hopefuls are working to woo the military vote.
In the news write-up, the Post provides an interesting anecdote:
President Obama headed to Nevada on Monday to announce new efforts to help service members transition out of the military, resuming a three-day swing up the West Coast … Obama will also visit San Francisco, Portland, Ore., and Seattle for a mixture of public and private campaign events … In Reno, Obama will address the Veterans of Foreign Wars, a group that his opponent, Republican Mitt Romney, will speak to the following day before heading to Europe and attending the London Olympics. Both candidates are heavily targeting service members, veterans and their families, significant populations in several critical swing states, including Virginia and Colorado.
While fundraising swings through California and New York are common despite the respective states’ lack of competitiveness, I find it curious that Obama is going to Oregon and Washington — two states no one seriously considers competitive but Obama feels the need to swing through to sew up support. Maybe those recent polls showing high single digit leads in Oregon and Washington are telling a far more precarious story than the lack of media coverage would have you believe.
