U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott says that Barack Obama could put North Carolina in play.
The Virginia Democrat, an Obama supporter since before the Iowa caucuses, says that the state has similar demographics to his home state, which Obama won in the Democratic presidential primary.
In Elizabeth City for a voter drive, Scott told Dome he believes Obama would carry the same vote that Sen. Jim Webb and Govs. Doug Wilder and Tim Kaine have gotten in Virginia, and that could mean a fight for North Carolina as well.
That would cut against the grain of recent elections. Virginia hasn't gone for a Democrat for president since Lyndon Johnson; North Carolina since Jimmy Carter.
"If we can carry one or two southern states, it would be hard to write a list of states the Republicans could win to add up to 278 electoral votes," he argued.
Scott said that would force Republican nominee John McCain to campaign in the South, instead of spending his time in traditional swing states like Missouri and Ohio.
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