McCain Losing Ground in Pro-Bush Strongholds

John McCain finds himself fighting to hold some states that went red in 2000 and ‘04—a bad sign for the Republican, Time reports. Polls show Barack Obama in real contention in once-solid GOP states like Indiana and North Carolina, and inching ahead in crucial Ohio. Obama has also opened wide leads in New Hampshire and Wisconsin, Democratic in ’04.

As November approaches, the McCain campaign has responded to the changes in the electoral map by abandoning Michigan and redistributing staff to other swing states. “Just the overall environment right now that we face is one of the worst environments for any Republican in probably 35 years,” the campaign’s political director said. “Any time you have that, you have states move within that margin.” (More John McCain stories.)