On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Friday, NBC White House correspondent and MSNBC “The Daily Rundown” host Chuck Todd more-or-less predicted that President Barack Obama would win Florida in November, citing the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll that gives Obama a five-point edge over Republican candidate Mitt Romney in that state.
Rasmussen Reports President Scott Rasmussen, however, said Todd’s projection was premature.
In an appearance on Laura Ingraham’s radio show Friday, Rasmussen said the state is hardly “off the map,” especially given the timing of the poll, which was immediately after the Democratic National Convention but before this week’s turmoil in the Middle East.
“There’s an accurate part and there’s an inaccurate part of the clip you just played,” he said. “If Mitt Romney loses Florida, it is over. He cannot win the presidency without Florida. He needs to win Ohio. Another very important state is Virginia. Those are keys and if any candidate loses all three of those, they’re going to lose.”
“It is inaccurate to say Florida is off the map,” he continued. “The problem the president has in Florida starts with his health care law. Seniors are more opposed to that law than anybody else. It is a state that is very close in polling and fundamentally is leaning a little bit Republican. Don’t know where it is going to go. It’s clearly a toss-up. And I would say that Ohio is a little bit tougher for Romney right now. The president has done an awful lot of advertising up there. They’ve really been driving the message the auto industry is helping the president a bit there.”
“If somebody tells you they know how this is going to turn out, they’re either lying to you or deluding themselves,” said Rasmussen. “It is too close to call. Both campaigns have weaknesses.”
