The Obama campaign has confirmed they are shutting down their 11 North Dakota campaign offices and dispatching their staffers to other states such as Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Barack Obama has approximately 50 staffers in North Dakota in the hopes of being the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state since 1964, but with the latest polls showing McCain with a double digit lead in North Dakota, the Obama campaign has decided to pull out.
The Politico reports this is the third long-shot state the Obama campaign is pulling out of to focus on campaigning in states where he can be competitive.
According to Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe, "We have a lot of differing combinations to get to 270, and our strategic imperative is going to be ... to keep as many of those scenarios as possible alive" deep into October."
It was announced previously the Obama campaign had pulled out of Georgia and Alaska.
This change in strategy comes as early voting is about to start in North Dakota and other states. Absentee voting may start as early as Thursday for North Dakota, according to the Associated Press.
The LA Times' Top of the Ticket states this will be the fourth state the Obama campaign is writing off being Idaho was deemed a Democratic write-off early in the campaign.
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