Colo., Va. seen as McCain must-win states

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Republican presidential hopeful John McCain must win Colorado and Virginia if he's to become the next U.S. president, political analysts say.

The Denver Post reported Sunday that a McCain victory in only one of those two states would likely mean Democrat Barack Obama would win the 270 electoral votes needed to be president.

Complicating things for McCain is that he is being outspent at least 5-1 by Obama in Colorado.

"It's worse than running uphill," said Lori Weigel, a Republican pollster for Public Opinion Strategies. "It's like downhill skiing, uphill."

Colorado and Virginia top the list of potential "tipping points" for the 2008 presidential election, said Nate Silver, founder of the politics Web site fivethirtyeight.com and an Obama supporter, and it's "all about demographics."

Still, some McCain supporters say their candidate can pull off an upset.

"He's got to hammer the tax message," said Dick Wadhams, the Colorado Republican Party chairman, adding, "It's hard to see how he wins the nation without winning Colorado."