West Virginia is not looking good for Obama and unless Sen. Byrd endorses Obama that is not likely to improve much. So how can Obama affect the narrative? He has already mathematically secured the nomination, but Clinton’s spinners will try to make as much hay out of West Virginia that they can. There is the option of appearing in the next set of states, but since the math says the nomination is already Obama’s, then appearing in an upcoming state only feeds the Clinton spin that Hillary could somehow still win the nomination.
So is there another option. Follow me below the fold and find out...
There are two other elections Tuesday night: the special election in MS-1 and the Nebraska primary. Obama could emphasize his ability to party build and reach out to help Dems win in red areas by spending a little time helping on one of these elections and then appear on election night with the winner.
It would have to be worked out with the candidates in these elections on where and how this might be most effectively done. There are pros and cons of picking either race:
Nebraska Senate:
Cons:
- It’s a contested primary. Does Obama want to take sides?
- Though I think Kleeb will pull it off what if he doesn’t?
Pros:
- Reminds pundits that Obama can help Dems win white votes in very red states
- Helping Kleeb projects image of change and the Democratic Parties future
- Might solidify the stronger candidate winning the Democratic Senate nomination
- Might make progress on picking up an Electoral College vote since Nebraska splits their Electoral College votes by congressional district and there is a possibility Obama can make a play for at least the Omaha district
- Draws attention to Kleeb as a rising star and might help get money pouring into this open Senate seat that we have a solid chance of winning (as side note I think Kleeb should be a keynote speaker at the convention like Obama was in 2004 to highlight the future of the party)
- Shake the confidence of Republican operatives
MS-1:
Cons:
- Close election, what if Childers loses?
- Childers already being attacked for ties to Obama and this part of Mississippi was Hillary’s strongest area, so how will this effect the close election
Pros:
- A win will emphasize that trying to tie Obama to red state Dems doesn’t hurt the Dem even in the south
- Adds a super delegate who recently got help from Obama (actually Obama already helped in the last round of voting in this election when on the same day of the Pennsylvania primary he diverted some of his volunteer support to phone bank this district for Childers and helping Childers come in on top just 400 votes short of winning without a run off)
So where do you think Obama should be Tuesday night? If I had to choose, I would think he should be in Omaha at the Kleeb victory event after spending some time phonebanking for Kleeb.