This is a new phenomenon that is being floated around by experts.
We all know what coatails are. For example, Obama coattails in Connecticut might propel Murphy to victory. Or Romney coattails in North Dakota might propel Berg to victory.
But how about mega coattails? The theory is that there is a such a huge margin in a state that it actually leaks over into neighboring states
For example, Romney is going to win Utah by so much that it harms Obama in Nevada and Colorado.
They say mega coattails from Illinois is what gave Obama Indiana in 2008.
Should Obama campaign in Salt Lake City? Obviously he won't win the state but if he can get the margin down in Utah, there will just be coattails in Utah and not mega coattails
Nonsense. President Obama won Illinois by a huge margin. Proximity to Chicago will not make rural areas of southwestern Michigan more likely to vote form. He barely won Indiana and barely lost Missouri, so there goes the proximity theory. Southernmost Illinois abuts western Kentucky and is close to northwestern Tennessee and northeastern Arkansas. Those areas were not Obama country in 2008 and won't be in 2012.
Eastern Nevada and western Colorado are politically similar to nearby parts of Utah -- but Denver is a long way from Salt Lake City, and the most populous parts of Nevada could hardly be less like Utah. If you ever drive on I-80 just west of the Utah/Nevada state line, the first thing that you notice is that Reno is almost 400 miles away, and unless it is still early in the day you are not going to get to Reno to stay for the night unless you do some fiendish driving. That's roughly the distance between Chicago and Pittsburgh, or almost to the Mexican border from Dallas.
President Obama won Indiana in 2008 because he campaigned there heavily and caught the Republican machine off guard. He didn't campaign much in Indiana in 2012 and that will show.
