"The presidential campaign battleground is narrowing to about 10 states in the final weeks before Election Day, as the rival campaigns make tough choices about where to target resources," the Wall Street Journal reports.
"Florida and Ohio are the most closely fought states. But President Bush appears to be less optimistic about capturing Michigan and New Hampshire, while Sen. John Kerry is scaling back in Missouri, West Virginia and Arizona."
Meanwhile, "sensing a possible upset on Democratic turf," President Bush "has decided to make his first campaign trip to New Jersey in the closing weeks of the race," the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The trip was called and "unexpected detour."
But the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports Arkansas, a state that voted for Bush four years ago, may also be up for grabs. Kerry senior strategist Tad Devine "noted the latest polling by Zogby International shows Kerry barely trailing Bush in Arkansas, 45 percent to 46 percent."
Finally, the New York Times puts the scare into Democrats: "Ralph Nader has the potential to tip the balance in nine states where President Bush and John Kerry are running neck and neck."
