More on Voter ID laws

“ … although I do think these laws will have some detrimental effect on Democratic turnout, it is unlikely to be as large as some Democrats fear or as some news media reports imply — and they can also serve as a rallying point for the party bases. So although the direct effects of these laws are likely negative for Democrats, it wouldn’t take that much in terms of increased base voter engagement — and increased voter conscientiousness about their registration status — to mitigate them.”

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/measuring-the-effects-of-voter-identification-laws/

Has Romney lost Iowa?

“On the question of extending the wind production tax credit -- an important issue for Iowans because of the roughly 7,000 jobs tied to the state's wind-energy industry -- the two candidates have made their positions perfectly (and diametrically) clear: Obama supports it and Romney does not. …

A recent poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, a Republican firm, spelled out just how perilous a position Romney is taking. "An overwhelming majority of Iowa voters would be less likely to support an anti-wind candidate for office," according to the POS survey, which later notes: "Eighty five percent (85%) of Iowans believe that wind energy has been good for the state's economy, and 83 percent believe that it has helped bring new jobs to the state."

http://decoded.nationaljournal.com/2012/08/romneys-chances-in-iowa-gone-w.php

Over $300 million of conservative super-Pac ads planned for swing states

 “A conservative group partially funded by the billionaire Koch brothers is spending approximately $24 million over the next month in swing-state advertisements … In addition to the Americans for Prosperity buy, the Romney-backing Restore our Future super-PAC is expected to spend aggressively, while outside groups led by former Bush adviser Karl Rove have pledged to spend some $300 million throughout the cycle.”

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/241967-americans-for-prosperity-plan-24m-swing-state-ad-buy

Obama plan $77 million in swing state ads

“The reservation was for eight battleground states: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia. Ohio alone amounts to nearly $20 million of the reservation.”

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/242047-obama-adds-77-million-to-ad-reservation