Reading Comprehension Questions:

1. Which states voted for Al Gore in the 2000 election?

2. What about John Kerry's background may turn blue-collar workers off?

3. What might help Kerry in the upcoming election?

4. Why did the Republican Party choose New York as the site of the Republican National Convention?

5. What are Republicans doing to win over blue state voters?

6. What are some of the issues that Republican and Democratic voters care about?

Discussion Activity (more research might be needed):

1. Using the Online NewsHour's interactive electoral map at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2004/politics101/politics101_ecmap.html, research which way voters in your state voted in the 2000 election. Would you consider your state a blue, or Democratic, state, a red, or Republican, state or is it a battleground state, where the results could go either way? Which way do you expect your state to go in the 2004 presidential election? Why?

2. How have the two major presidential candidates been campaigning in your state? Have you seen television or print ads? What about the candidates' speeches themselves? If you have, what message do you think each candidate is trying to send to voters in your state?

Write a 500-800 word essay on any of these topics providing clear examples. Send your completed editorial to NewsHour Extra [extra@newshour.org]. Exceptional essays might be published on our Web site.