Barack Obama is on a roll. Last weekend the senator from Illinois won four primaries and caucuses. His Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton won none. But can he win Ohio and Florida in the general election in November?
This question is crucial.
The outcome in those two states will most likely determine who will be the next president of the United States. The reasons are purely mathematical. States in the North East and in the West will vote Democratic, while states in the South will go to the Republican candidate. Florida and Ohio are swing states with a large number of delegates. A Democratic candidate needs to win both of them in order to win the White House. In 2000 Al Gore lost in Florida; in 2004 John Kerry lost in Florida and in Ohio.
Barack Obama is very vulnerable in both states because of his positions on immigration, the number one issue in Ohio and Florida. Obama favors driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants. A wide majority of Americans is vehemently against it. Governor Eliot Spitzer had to retract the idea after facing huge opposition in the liberal state of New York. Workers in Ohio and Florida fear that immigrants are taking their jobs
While Obama can make a strong argument about his positions on the war in Iraq, U.S. elections are almost always won on domestic issues