Obama’s Down-Ballot Effect

By Carl Hulse
NYT blog

With all the talk and worry about the potential “Obama effect” on races down the ticket, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee believes it has identified a very positive one – Senator Barack Obama runs strongly with independent voters.

A committee memo sent this weekend to Democratic House members, some of whom have recently expressed wariness about Mr. Obama, fleshes out some research on Mr. Obama’s standing with independent voters, a bloc that was crucial to the Democratic takeover of the House in 2006.

“Senator Obama’s appeal among independent voters was clearly illustrated throughout the 2008 primary contest,” said the memo from Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, chairman of the DCCC. “Out of a total of 38 states that exit polling was available for, Senator Obama won the independent vote in 29 of those contests. In presidential battlegrounds like New Mexico, Ohio, Missouri, and Virginia - states where multiple House seats are in play - Senator Obama won independents by strong margins.”

(Continued here.)