Swing State Project

The field team had a great day. The numbers were really strong and the independents are breaking against Schmidt. At this point, there is no need to do anything other than execute the plan and each member of the team is ready to focus on getting shit done.

I'm going to have a lot more on the field tomorrow, and some new stuff is going to roll out online. It is possible the magic number could be as low as 20,000 votes, meaning the August timing and lack of enthusiasm for Mean Jean could provide the rare campaign with a general election turnout lower than the primary. But I'm not making any predictions and neither should you, this is a crazy campaign under forced circumstances and anyone who says they can create a viable voter model is full of it.

Media was wonderful today. Schmidt/Noe/Taft -- every channel. Voters here have a profound sense of betrayal over the Republican culture of corruption. During the Gray Davis recall, I was proud to vote to throw the bum out of office, but the voters weren't nearly as livid as they are in Ohio.

Since the coingate scandal broke less than four months ago, each week has brought new tales of how Republican in Ohio operate. The extent of the corruption is absurd and a lot of Republicans would rather vote for a Marine than somebody at the center of the scandal.

Tomorrow's going to be a big day. Swing State Project will be in overdrive. Tim Tagaris will be back in district in the afternoon. This may surprise many regular readers, but Tim and I have actually never met. Last fall, when we were really the only two people telling the story of a congressional race on the blogs, we started talking and have had a number of coups, but never met. With both of us in the same room, we'll be posting with a fury.

While we'll have an on-the-ground perspective, look to the other blogs to keep you up-to-date on what's moving online. In case you haven't noticed, the entire left-wing of the blogosphere has been inspired by Paul Hackett.

I'm going to get some sleep...