AP analysis: "Barack Obama has pulled ahead in enough states to win the 270 electoral votes he needs to gain the White House -- and with states to spare -- according to an Associated Press analysis that shows he is now moving beyond typical Democratic territory to challenge John McCain on historically GOP turf. Even if McCain sweeps the six states that are too close to call, he still seemingly won't have enough votes to prevail, according to the analysis, which is based on polls, the candidates' TV spending patterns and interviews with Democratic and Republican strategists. McCain does have a path to victory but it's a steep climb: He needs a sudden shift in voter sentiment that gives him all six toss-up states plus one or two others that now lean toward Obama. ... Though sounding confident, Obama is still campaigning hard. 'Don't believe for a second this election is over,' he tells backers. 'We have to work like our future depends on it in this last week, because it does.'"

Posted by Laura at October 29, 2008 10:21 PM