Romney, Obama race for swing state voters

SALT LAKE CITY — Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney on Monday threw out fighting words in the presidential race as the candidate tries to attract swing state voters.

Romney told President Obama to "start packing" during an interview with Diane Sawyer.

Now that Romney has effectively wrapped up the GOP race, he is embarking on a six-and-a-half-month marathon to November.

President Barack Obama and Romney are going head to head in the national election, but the race within the race is the nine swing states that are up for grabs: Nevada, Colorado, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, New Hampshire, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida. There are 110 electoral votes are at stake: 41 percent of the 270 needed to win.

Political scientist Tim Chambless said most of those states voted for George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004.

Some of those were "states that actually went to Barack Obama in 2008," he said. "The question is whether those states will stay Democratic or go back to the Republican side."

And swing voters will swing the race. One swing group where the president currently holds the edge is women: the subject of ads from both sides.

Expect to see plenty of Ann Romney front and center, as she was last week after a Democratic strategist said the mother of five had never worked a day in her life.

"And this is what I love the most!" Ann Romney said. "Women are talking about the economy and jobs and the legacy of debt that we're going to leave our children. And we are mad about it."

Despite the attention paid lately to Ann Romney, at least one political scientist said Romney — or any other candidate's wife — will not hold much sway come election time.

Thad Hall at the University of Utah concedes the spouses do get free media with them as they campaign for their husbands. But Hall also warns that one little screw-up can damage the campaigns.

"Barack Obama has a message that he's trying to do about jobs or something like that, and Michelle Obama made some comment about broccoli and how people should eat more broccoli — it would step on his message for that day," Hall said.

Hall added that Ann Romney could do the same, but the wives must not become distractions to their husbands' races for the White House, especially in swing states like Ohio.

As far as the candidates themselves go, with other swing groups — Hispanics, the nation's largest ethnic minority — the president so far has a clear edge. Obama also has an edge with independents and moderates, who he won in 2008 swing states.

Both candidates are trying to appeal to voters' concerns about the economy.

"We can build an economy where everybody gets a fair shot, and everybody's doing their fair share," Obama said.

Each candidate must unite his party's base — a challenge for Romney after a bruising primary fight. The candidate spoke last week to key conservative group, the National Rifle Association.

"We need a president who will stand up for the rights of hunters, sportsmen, and those seeking to protect their homes and their families," he said. "President Obama has not. I will."

Another important factor in the race will be Romney's choice of running mate. In 2008, John McCain picked Sarah Palin, a choice that ultimately did not help.

"He's got to choose someone as a running mate who will not hurt him, and who can also speak well for him," Chambless said.

Money is another key factor. Each side is expected to raise and spend easily more than $750 million each, making Obama vs. Romney one for the record books.

The race is likely to be close — and may resemble the 2004 reelection bid of President George W. Bush. Like President Obama now, Bush was the incumbent, but was vulnerable. Ultimately, that race came down to just a few key states — and it seems likely to come down to just a few states in 2012.

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Contributing: Peter Samore

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