From this morning’s MSNBC First Read: “Two new Indiana polls are out that show the race there to be as close as we have expected it to be. Per a South Bend Tribune/Research 2000 poll (conducted April 21 to April 24), it’s Obama 48%, Clinton 47%. And an Indy Star/WTHR poll — conducted (April 20 to April 23) by Ann Selzer, who famously got Iowa right — has it Obama 41%, Clinton 38%.
“The biggest surprise in the Selzer survey is Obama’s strength against McCain — he leads him in Indi-freaking-ana! Clinton’s basically even with McCain. Is the GOP brand in that bad of shape in reliably red Indiana? According to these and other polls, this race doesn’t look like Ohio or Pennsylvania at all, where Clinton had significant leads two weeks out. Rather, it looks like a jump ball.
“Meanwhile, the Washington Post cements the CW about North Carolina: To change the race, Clinton needs to upset Obama here, or get awfully close to it. “North Carolina, with its large African American population, has long been seen as a firewall for Obama after contests in Ohio, Pennsylvania and elsewhere that favored Clinton. A win here and in Indiana, which also votes May 6, could cement his status as the front-runner.”