The McCain Effect, Part 3

To round out our week of examining the "McCain mystique," let's compare his poll standing in New Hampshire to his polling numbers in other battleground states.

According to Pollster.com, McCain sits at 43 percent in national polls. In four battleground states, his numbers are better than his standing in national polls.

In Florida, for instance, McCain stands at 45 percent, two percentage points above his national standing.

In addition:

• Missouri: + 2
• Nevada: + 2
• Virginia: + 1

In two states, he is very close to his national standing:

• Colorado: - 1
• Ohio: - 1

In the next cluster of states, McCain stands 4 to 5 points below his national standing:

• Iowa: - 4
• Pennsylvania: - 4
• Wisconsin: - 4
• Michigan: - 5
• Oregon: - 5
• Washington: - 5

And finally, there are two states where McCain currently falls more than five points below his national standing:

• New Hampshire: - 6
• Minnesota: - 8  

Again, we have not seen fresh numbers in the Granite State recently. As mentioned in the last post, we look forward to seeing new numbers from Andy Smith and the University of New Hampshire Survey Research Center.

Right now, though, New Hampshire sure looks a lot like a state in the Upper Midwest or Pacific Coast. 

Dante Scala teaches American politics at the University of New Hampshire and blogs at Graniteprof.