The campaign of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has cancelled its announced plans (which may have been a ruse to begin with) to advertise in Arizona (10 electoral votes), Arkansas (6), Louisiana (9), and Missouri (11), on the grounds that the candidate isn't doing well enough in those states to justify the cost.
Kerry is now spending great sums playing defense in numerous "blue" states that Gore won in 2000, but where polls now show Bush leading: New Mexico (5), Minnesota (10), Oregon (7), Wisconsin (10), Pennsylvania (21), and Iowa (7). Kerry is also spending heavily in Michigan (17), Washington (11), and Maine (4). Kerry's earlier plan to make Virginia (13) competitive has proved futile. In fact, Kerry is now unlikely to run ads anywhere in the South. In addition to the central battlegrounds of Ohio (20) and Florida (27), Kerry will pose a serious threat to Bush only in a handful of red states: New Hampshire (4), Nevada (5), West Virginia (5) and Colorado (9). The most recent polls show Bush leading in all six of those states.
