The 11th Hour
by Deputy Chairman Kevin DeWine
Four years ago, a CNN-Gallup poll gave John Kerry a four-point lead in Ohio the day before the election. Two days later, he delivered a concession speech acknowledging that "there won't be enough outstanding votes for us to be able to win Ohio, and, therefore, we cannot win this election.
"The six-point swing between the poll and the final result had a lot to do with the effectiveness of our ground game. On the eve of the 2008 presidential election, we're poised to do it again.
Our voter contact numbers in the past month are 50-75 percent higher at this point than they were at the same time in 2004. We're reaching unprecedented numbers and even outpacing states with double the staff and capacity. NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd wrote yesterday, "One of the better state Republican parties is right here in the Buckeye State; it's why so many of us aren't ready to count McCain out yet in Ohio. The Republican machine is a good one." Our team is generating the extra burst needed to get nearly 900 Republican candidates in Ohio over the finish line to victory on Tuesday. They're fighting night and day against overwhelming media bias, a five-to-one fundraising disparity, a challenging political environment and the partisan maneuvering of a secretary of state hellbent on concealing election fraud.
Despite those obstacles, we're nearly dead even and surpassing every goal. We have the best team of political operatives in the nation, and they're ready to shock the world on Tuesday. Help them do it. Go vote and encourage everyone you know to do the same.
