Clinton has more swing state support. There are many theories about what determines a swing states. However, everybody agrees swing states have about equal Democrat and Republican voters. So, based on this common agreement I determine that any state that had less than a 3% margin between the Democrat and Republican vote in the past election is a swing state. I have compiled a list of the current swing states and have arranged them in order of electoral vote count:
Pennsylvania: 21, Clinton
Ohio: 20, Clinton
Wisconsin: 10, Obama
Iowa: 7, Obama
Nevada: 5, Clinton
New Mexico: 5, Clinton
New Hampshire: 4, Clinton
A quick look at the list shows that Clinton has more swing state support. Obama has 17 votes and Clinton has 55 votes. The general election will be won by the candidate with the most swing state support. Since Clinton has over three times more swing state support than Obama, she has a stronger chance of winning the general election. Thus, in order for the Democrats to increase our chances of winning the general election it is best to vote for Clinton to be the Democrat nominee for president.
All the swing state contests are completed so Hillary Clinton has won the battle for swing state allegiance. This conclusion is based on my definition of a swing state which I determined by finding out which states during the last election were won by a tiny margin. However, for those who think more swing states should be added then I recommend going back four more years to look at the swing states in the 2000 election. Again, my criteria for the following swing states is that there was a smaller than 3% margin between the Democrat and Republican vote:
Arizona: 10, Clinton
Arkansas: 6, Clinton
Delaware: 3 Obama
Florida: 27, Clinton
Iowa: 7, Obama
Louisiana: 9, Obama
Maine: 4, Obama
Michigan: 17, Clinton
Minnesota: 10, Obama
Missouri: 11, Obama
Nevada: 5, Clinton
New Hampshire: 4, Clinton
New Mexico: 5, Clinton
Ohio: 20, Clinton
Oregon: 7, not yet
Pennsylvania: 21, Clinton
Washington: 11, Obama
West Virginia: 5, not yet
Wisconsin: 10, Obama
A comparison of the 2000 election swing states gives Clinton a sizable lead over Obama who has 65 electoral votes versus 115 votes for Clinton. So even when you add a lot more swing states, Obama is nowhere near being competitive with Clinton. Hillary Clinton is and will always be the Democrat swing state champion of 2008! Thus, whether or not she is chosen to be the Democrat nominee, she has proven herself to be the best Democrat candidate to compete in the general election.
Sources:
2004 presidential election (list of swing states)
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
2000 presidential election (list of swing states)
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
CNN.com reference page which includes a menu to research state statistics
http://www.cnn.com/...