The Hill is reporting that public funding limits are behind the McCain Campaign’s decision to pullout of Michigan.
Barack Obama’s decision to forego public funding for his presidential campaign helped force John McCain to withdraw from Michigan, abandoning an important strategic objective, said a McCain adviser.
The withdrawal was a painful decision for Sen. McCain (Ariz.), the GOP presidential nominee, who spent nearly $8 million to advertise in the state.
McCain strategists decided, however, that they had to pull out of Michigan to keep up with Sen. Obama (Ill.), the Democratic nominee, who has been allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts on the general election because he opted out of public funds.
McCain has had to adhere to spending limits because he accepted public funds for his campaign after winning the GOP nomination in September.
This isn’t really surprising, we all knew Barack Obama’s decision to forgo public financing would give him a tremendous money advantage. I had hoped that the McCain campaign would be able to effectively contest all of this elections swing states but it appears not.