Read about N.H.; substitute the word Demo. for Rep.; and you would think you were reading about Ga. -- Once bedrock GOP, N.H. now in play.

In our 9-14-04 post titled "The Electoral College 101 (with a little bit of 201 thrown in for good measure)," we noted:

"The Electoral College was designed by the Founding Fathers to place a buffer between popular sentiment and the selection of a chief executive. It awards each state the number of electoral votes that corresponds to its number of seats in the House of Representatives plus two more, the latter an effort to augment the power of small states the way the composition of the U.S. Senate does."

Well, it's not just the small states. It can be the equivalent -- low-population states.

A N.Y. Times article one of the small states, New Hampshire, and how to its surprise, it has found itself a battleground, joining West Virginia and New Mexico on the short list of low-population states so closely contested that both Republicans and Democrats believe they have no choice but to battle for a narrow advantage.

The article discusses how New Hampshire over a period of years has gone from once being bedrock Republican to now leaning Democratic, the reverse of Georgia (although I think in Georgia I am safe leaving the word "leaning" off).

One longtime Republican party leader there said the "micro-targeting" of independent voters -- the key to the election -- by professionally manned phone banks "is the most sophisticated I've ever seen."

"They can tell you the 15 people in your precinct who get Golf Digest and probably send them a letter endorsing Bush from Arnold Palmer." Page two.
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This article also shows the 18 states that had the closest races in 2000. Needless to say, the presidential campaigns are focused on these states.