Democrats in Iowa are starting to get nervous. With what was once President Obama’s strength- his foreign policy record- quickly eroding as he grossly mishandles a terrorist attack and security failure for political gain, it’s easy to see why the Iowa Democratic Party is encouraging early voting.
As CNN reports, early voting, which began yesterday, is up drastically over 2008 levels. Democrats account for over 80% of all absentee requests, according to the Iowa Secretary of State’s office.
While some point to this as a good sign for President Obama, Iowa GOP strategist Steve Grubbs points out that this is a difference of strategy: “The Republican Party will put a little more into the last three weeks, and the Democrats a little more into the first initial blast of early voting.”
It’s not hard to see why. September's jobs report will be released next week and no one expects good news. This is in addition to the continuous flow of negative reports from the Middle East that show not only a complete disaster surrounding the Benghazi attack but also an icy relationship between Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Obama. Democrats need to vote early because they only have fewer reasons to vote for Obama as the election grows closer.
Iowan Democrats are well aware of this and are doing all they can to push early voting. The Obama campaign even asked Jason Alexander to make a stop in Des Moines to encourage voters and try to hype up enthusiasm. With each day bringing more and more questions on the President’s leadership, or lack thereof, Iowa Democrats understand that the quicker they can get people to cast their ballots, the better.
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