PLAYING THE DOZENS:
The competition to reach the 270 electoral votes needed to win is expected to play out primarily in 14 states. In the battlegrounds, far more electoral votes, 97, are up for grabs for Democrats than the 69 available for McCain to go after. Twice as many of the closest states — decided by 2 or fewer percentage points — voted Republican in 2004; they include New Mexico and Iowa, which the GOP won by 1 point.
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