Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/presidential-candidates-focus-on-hotly-contested-swing-states Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript As the presidential race marches into its final weeks, the campaigns are employing a shifting set of strategies to appeal to voters in battleground states. Local political reporters discuss the campaign ground games in their states. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. JIM LEHRER: And now to journalists in three of the battleground states.Adam Smith is the political editor of the St. Petersburg Times in Florida.Darrel Rowland is public affairs editor and head of polling for the Columbus Dispatch in Ohio.And Mackenzie Carpenter is a political reporter for the Pittsburgh Post Dispatch in Pennsylvania.Adam Smith, based on polls and other measurements, where does the presidential race stand right now in Florida? ADAM SMITH, St. Petersburg Times: Right now, it's looking like a dead heat, maybe Obama up a couple of points. It's neck and neck. JIM LEHRER: Mackenzie Carpenter, what's the state of play in Pennsylvania? MACKENZIE CARPENTER, Pittsburgh Post Dispatch: Well, Obama has taken a big lead. A couple of recent polls show him in double-digit leads, although in southwestern Pennsylvania, where I am, that lead disappears and McCain is doing very well. JIM LEHRER: Darrel Rowland in Ohio, what's the race look like? DARREL ROWLAND, Columbus Dispatch: Jim, our poll was out Sunday, and that showed Senator Obama with a 7-point lead, which was a turnaround from a 1-point deficit before the conventions. JIM LEHRER: Now, Adam, in Florida, is it moving? Is there a trend or is it just — is it static? ADAM SMITH: Well, the trend has clearly been, as it is elsewhere, toward Obama since the convention, and that's been a big shift. Throughout this year, he had never — when you averaged the polls together — been better than a tie, and now he's up maybe 3 or 4 points. JIM LEHRER: Does the economy have a lot to do with this? ADAM SMITH: The economy has everything to do with it. Since the economic crisis really erupted, that's when his poll numbers really moved. JIM LEHRER: Mackenzie, same in Pennsylvania, the economy? MACKENZIE CARPENTER: Absolutely. The economy is critical, but, Jim, I wanted to make one point. JIM LEHRER: Sure. MACKENZIE CARPENTER: And that is, in southwestern Pennsylvania, you have a lot of Reagan Democrats, some of whom have said they will not vote for a black man. And I'm working on a story right now about the role of race in our region; I think that's going to play a big role. JIM LEHRER: Well, can you quantify that? I mean, in terms of… MACKENZIE CARPENTER: No one can quantify it, but I was interviewing Senator Bob Casey today, and he said any politician who doesn't think race is going to be an issue in Pennsylvania, certainly, is stupid. That was his word.It could be 1 percent. It could be 5 percent. Whatever it is, it's going to eat into the lead that Obama seems to be having right now, which is why he's spending so much time in the eastern part of the state, which is heavily populated, Philadelphia and the collar counties, trying to boost his support there as much as possible.