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  Brian Schweitzer: Barack Obama Can’t Win Montana
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ContributorJason 
Last EditedJason  Apr 30, 2012 05:08pm
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News DateSunday, April 29, 2012 11:00:00 PM UTC0:0
DescriptionMontana has a Democratic governor and two Democratic senators. Every statewide office except for the state’s at-large House seat is filled by a Democrat. In 2008, the Obama campaign had 50 staffers in the state, and fell just 2 points short of claiming its three electoral votes.

Yet the president’s reelection campaign has effectively written off Montana, according to leading state Democrats including outgoing Gov. Brian Schweitzer.

When asked about the president’s prospects in the state (in the same interview where he repeatedly tried to tie Mitt Romney, a Mormon, with polygamy, Schweitzer said, “it’s already sort of predetermined that the GOP is going to win in Montana.” The only scenario in which Obama wins the state, he added, would be as part of a “47-state landslide.”

The Obama campaign—which has promoted its candidate’s prospects in longshot states like Arizona, a state that McCain won by 8 points in 2008 and that has no Democrats holding statewide office—declined to discuss its strategy for the state. In a statement, Spokesman Ben Finkenbinder said “our organization has been building for months in Montana to make sure we are talking to Montanans about the important choice they will face in November.”

But local Democrats, while pleased with the infrastructure Obama built in 2008, said that the president’s campaign has not invested in the state this year. The campaign “is not putting in any resources,” said Bob Funk, the campaign manager for state attorney general candidate Jesse Laslovich.
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