Ground Game

Over at Open Left, Chris Bowers sees more good news for John Edwards emerging from some recent New Hampshire polling data:

"My suspicions of a faster Edwards increase were correct.” Bowers cites aggregated polling data from Real Clear Politics which shows that Edwards is not only a contender in Iowa: “Over the last three weeks, Obama has risen 0.8% in New Hampshire, while John Edwards has risen 3.1%. His rise is to such an extent that, in the event of an Edwards, Obama, Clinton 1-2-3 finish in Iowa, I would slightly favor John Edwards to win both New Hampshire and the overall nomination."

There’s little doubt that whichever candidate wins Iowa will gain a significant overall boost in their national numbers and momentum. However, the major obstacle facing both Edwards and Mike Huckabee is whether an Iowa victory would be enough to catapult them into front-runner status in neighboring New Hampshire, whose voters have very different priorities and attitudes than Iowa voters. But if Edwards is already a strong third in New Hampshire, you have to believe he’s as much a contender as Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. Still, his acceptance of federal matching funds places him at a distinct disadvantage the other Democratic candidates wouldn’t face if they won the nomination. Would their party really want to be financially limited during an election cycle when their overall fundraising numbers are far outpacing Republican candidates?