Only Wisconsin In Play For Mitt Romney In Big Ten States

The day Mitt Romney announced the selection of Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan I posted my pleasure with the news.  Not that it was a political pick I would have made, it seemed to make more sense to name Florida Senator Marco Rubio to bring Hispanic elements into the GOP fold. ( I have argued the long-term interests of the party lies in the Latino and Hispanic voters.)

The reason I was pleased to see Ryan on the national ticket was due to the political excitement his nomination would mean for Wisconsin.

On August 11th I posted the following.

I am excited, as someone who loves politics more than partisanship, about the Ryan nomination.There will be a continuing buzz and energy in Wisconsin that will not happen in any other state this fall because of this news.

Only a month later there is no doubt that Wisconsin is at the center of the campaign, and in ways that Mitt Romney would probably wish were not so.  If Romney is to win the White House it seems he very well may need first to conquer Wisconsin.

Over the past days much has been said about the lack of Republican advertising in Pennsylvania.  That is something one never hears of from a Republican candidate with 50 days remaining before an election.

But there is also other troubling news from around the nation for the GOP ticket.

From Michigan where Romney was raised polls show Obama’s numbers continue to climb.  Meanwhile reports from Minnesota continue that the GOP may soon be turning off the ad buys.  In all important Ohio polls are finding fewer voters are supporting Mitt Romney.  In short, the level of ads buys in these states has not produced the impact once hoped for by the Republican ticket.

No matter how one looks at the electoral college map there is really no way to a Romney victory without winning in almost every key swing state.  That is a rough haul for any campaign.

That means Ohio, Florida, Virginia, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Colorado, Nevada, North Carolina and Iowa need to slip into the red column in early November.

Which brings me back to Wisconsin.  It could be pivotal for a Republican victory.

A Republican hasn’t won Wisconsin’s electoral votes since 1984, when Ronald Reagan beat Walter Mondale.  Democrats are committed to not allowing that to happen, and Republicans are hoping, based on the victories of Scott Walker and other conservatives, that 2012 can he added to their list of accomplishments.

Last week both vice-presidential candidates made appearances in the state, and President Obama is slated to be here later this week.  The ad wars will only intensify.  The high-profile visits only ramped up.

For partisans, of which I am one, this is nail-biting time.

But for politicos, of which I am an even bigger one, this election is like the perfect movie.  One long reel of unexpected delights, twists, and turns.

I still think for the long-term Rubio would have been the best selection for the GOP ticket.

But I concede for the drama of the moment Ryan was the person most able to move Wisconsin to the center of the arena.

Now where did I place the popcorn?