Spring Break
Decision day
Hour by hour: polls close, results reported
By: Liz Sidoti
Issue date: 11/4/08 Section: News
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If Democrat Barack Obama wins any of the three, he could be on his way to a big victory, maybe even a landslide. If Republican John McCain sweeps them, he could be headed for a comeback. And if any of these three are too close to call quickly, that could indicate a long night ahead - and, perhaps, a squeaker of a result.
President Bush comfortably won the trio four years ago. But Obama has used his financial muscle and his draw as the youthful first black Democratic nominee to put them, and other historically reliable Republican states, into play.
Thus, the Democrat has several routes he can take to reach the 270 Electoral College votes needed for victory. McCain's strategy has no room for error; he must win nearly all the states that went to Bush in 2004, and possibly even one or two that voted for Democrat John Kerry that year.
Here's a timetable for armchair election watchers.
6 p.m.: The last polls close in Georgia, Indiana and Virginia, new battlegrounds this year offering a combined 39 votes, as well as in Kentucky and South Carolina, GOP country and 16 votes McCain should easily win, and Vermont, three, a sure thing for Obama.
6:30 p.m.: Ohio and North Carolina, both are critical for McCain.
7 p.m.: Final voting ends in 15 states and Washington, D.C.
For Obama, the biggest prizes among them are Florida and its 27 votes and 11-vote Missouri, a bellwether for decades. Both went for Bush, and while Obama can afford to lose both, McCain can't.
Should the Republican stumble in those states or others, he hopes to make up any deficit in Pennsylvania, which offers 21 votes and hasn't voted for a Republican since 1988. A loss here could be the death knell for McCain's chances; it's the only Kerry-won state where he and the Republican National Committee are fiercely competing.
8:30 p.m.: Arkansas should be called for McCain shortly after its polls close. It has six votes.
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