By Rachel Kapochunas, CQ Staff

Strategists for John McCain have said they need not write off New Jersey, as some GOP presidential contenders have done, even though this longtime Northeastern swing state has trended Democratic over the past two decades. But the Arizona senator faces an uphill battle to capture the state’s 15 electoral votes, and he stands a better chance of compelling Barack Obama to spend money in the expensive New York media market that covers northern New Jersey.

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