Report: McCain dropping 'swing state' plan

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Campaigners for Republican U.S. presidential nominee John McCain have switched from playing swing-state "offense" to "defense" of GOP strongholds, sources say.

The McCain campaign had long sought to win the election by gaining the support of swing-state voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, appealing to culturally conservative Democrats there who may have been backers of former Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York. But those plans have been shelved, ABC News reported Monday.

Instead, with Democratic opponent Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois surging ahead in many swing-state polls, the McCain team shut its Michigan campaign and is devoting more resources to defending against Obama in such traditional Republican stronghold states as Virginia, Colorado and New Mexico, the broadcaster said.

"The more terrain you're playing on the better your odds of winning via various channels," Sara Taylor, deputy strategist for U.S. President George Bush's 2004 campaign, told ABC News. "Losing Michigan shrinks McCain's options. This decision is going to raise the stakes even more in battleground states. It means fewer opportunities and fewer choices for McCain."