RNC’s Duncan expects some KY Clinton supporters to migrate to McCain

MINNEAPOLIS – Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan told PolitickerKY.com he expected crossover voters – including supporters of U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) – to benefit his party’s presumptive presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

“We’re going to get a substantial amount of Democratic voters,” said Duncan about McCain’s chances in Kentucky.

Duncan, a resident of the eastern Kentucky town of Inez, added that he thought some “Hillary Clinton voters” would bolster McCain’s support in the Bluegrass state.

Clinton is popular among many Kentucky Democrats. The senator from New York won the state’s May 20 presidential primary by more than 35 points over the Democrats’ eventual nominee, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). After last week’s Democratic National Convention, Clinton’s Kentucky campaign chair said some Clinton delegates still had reservations about supporting Obama.

Recent polls show McCain pulling up to a 21 point lead in Kentucky over Obama, a fact Duncan noted, but he added that Republicans would not get too comfortable.

“Polling has indicated that John McCain had done well there so far,” said Duncan.

“In previous years, Kentucky was a battleground state,” he said. “We can’t take anything for granted there.”