Mitt Romney Beats a Retreat in Crucial State of Pennsylvania

(No surprise here. I think that report from earlier today that Romney is looking at expanding the map and putting money in PA is dead wrong):


The Keystone State has long been considered one of the crucial swing states up for grabs this year. In fact, the state’s blue-collar Democrats were the ones who Barack Obama famously described as sticking to their guns and bibles. After all, the state has elected Rick Santorum twice and has solid Republican majorities in both the legislature and its congressional delegation.

But it seems Romney is already pulling staff out. According to Twitter screen shots provided by a Democratic operative, Kate Meriwether, the Romney communications director for Pennsylvania, is now out of Harrisburg and working for the campaign in Virginia. Meriwether, who had previously served as the press secretary for North Carolina Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, is now describing herself as spokeswoman for the Romney campaign and tweeting from Virginia. This follows reports that the Romney camp is reassigning staff to Ohio from Pennsylvania. The Daily Beast has received no response in asking both Meriwether and the Romney campaign in Boston for comment.

This shift of resources shouldn’t be a shock, even as the campaign seems to be tightening in the aftermath of Romney’s resounding victory in the first debate. Pennsylvania has long leaned Democratic in presidential races. In fact, the last Republican nominee to win the state was George H.W. Bush in 1988. Obama has long maintained a lead in the polls in the state and, according to Nate Silver of The New York Times, Romney has less than a 9 percent chance winning the state this year.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/15/mitt-romney-beats-a-retreat-in-crucial-state-of-pennsylvania.html