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"You've got a lot of Republicans who are disenchanted with the `supposed' nominee in Mitt Romney," said Morgan Jackson, a North Carolina-based Democratic strategist. "As somebody who worked for John Kerry in 2004, we've seen this on our side. There were a lot of folks who liked John Kerry and voted for John Kerry but really wanted to be with somebody else." Romney, addressing supporters in Tampa, Fla., dismissed suggestions that a lengthy primary fight would hurt his party's chances in the fall. "A competitive primary does not divide us, it prepares us, and we will win," he said. But Gingrich gave no indication of bowing out anytime soon. His campaign even distributed signs at his Florida primary night rally that declared, "46 States to Go." In Florida, Leesfield said he watched the negative ads and said "it put me into high gear." He had planned to raise money for Obama, but said he was now "exponentially more" interested in encouraging his fundraising network to give to Obama's campaign. In Nevada, Erin Bilbray-Kohn, a member of the Democratic National Committee, said the Republican contest had boosted interest among Democrats organizing their volunteer base. "They're watching the Republicans and they want to do something and what they can do right now is work their precincts," she said.
Democrats have plenty of bad news on their side. The nation's unemployment rate has consistently topped 8 percent during Obama's presidency, a red line for any incumbent. A Gallup survey showed Obama's approval ratings dropping in North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida, all critical to his re-election. In New Hampshire, which Obama carried in 2008, he had an approval rating of about 38 percent. With a long grind ahead among Republicans, Obama will try to show voters that he and Congress aren't completely in campaign mode. The White House hopes the first result will be a law in which Congress polices itself on insider trading, then a deal to extend a payroll tax cut. All the while, Obama will be issuing executive orders to try to jolt the economy and win over voters. He also will keep up a brisk pace of fundraisers. "In 2008 we needed to make change -- we needed change," said Gaylene Kanoyton, who leads the local Democratic committee in Hampton, Va. "The theme for 2012 is we need to guard the change."
[Associated
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