Comments on: Is Harrisonburg in play this November?

By: hburgnews.com » Obama’s Harrisonburg office

hburgnews.com » Obama’s Harrisonburg office — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:29:10 +0000

[...] few days ago, I wrote about McCain taking out ads in the Harrisonburg market. Yesterday, Talking Points Memo reported the [...]

By: JGFitzgerald

JGFitzgerald — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:37:45 +0000

McCain is trying to cover his base (abbreviated, of course, CYA) four months before the election, a tribute to Obama’s organization, popularity, and strength. Expanding on what Deona and Adam point out, McCain should be targeting media markets like Cleveland and Miami right now, not trying to boost his take in places he ought to carry easily.

The ‘Burg’s not really in play. Dems will carry it (as we did for Deeds, Kaine, Fulk once, and Fulk twice). McCain appears to be afraid not that the ‘Burg is in play, but that the Valley is.

By: Adam Sharp

Adam Sharp — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:33:42 +0000

Think about Harrisonburg as a media market, not as an independent jurisdiction.

Buying ads in Harrisonburg allows candidates to reach up and down the valley (and McCain needs to boost turnout here), as well as crossing over into West Virginia, which McCain also needs to win.

McCain isn’t targeting Harrisonburg … he’s targeting Rockingham, Augusta, Shenandoah, Page, Pendleton, Hardy, Grant, Pocahontas …

By: Deona Landes Houff

Deona Landes Houff — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:42:43 +0000

If in fact Virginia is this year’s Ohio or Florida, small-town votes will mean more than ever. McCain could lose the cities served by Hburg TV, but he’ll win the counties, and he perhaps needs to win them by even more than the expected huge margins.