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Bay Area Campaign Volunteers Head To Swing States To Get Out The Vote

SAN JOSE (KCBS) – President Barack Obama leads Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney by 24 points in California, but the race for the White House is much closer in other Western states, including Nevada and Colorado.

That's why local campaign volunteers from both parties are spending the home stretch of Campaign 2012 on the road, trying to swing those all-important battleground states their way.

KCBS' Doug Sovern Reports:

Former San Jose City Councilman Forrest Williams is one of the leaders of President Obama's South Bay campaign. But he's not wasting time trying to drum up votes in California.

"The two big states that we have are Colorado and Nevada," said Williams. So his team is phone banking and sending volunteers to the Silver State and beyond.

"We have been calling into all of those battleground states and getting people registered to vote," he said. "So California's on the front."

Both campaigns know this race will be won or lost in those battleground states. Dr. Greggory DeVore, one of Mitt Romney's top California fundraisers, said the GOP nominee told him personally he needs more money, to run more negative ads.

"He said the only thing that turns the dial is an ad that explains the problems with the other candidates," he said.

So DeVore is raising hundreds of thousands of dollars in California to spend elsewhere.

"A vote is important of course. But especially in California because we're not going to win California, the best way Californians can make their message known is to contribute," said DeVore.

He said he has had many conversations with Romney and the Republican candidate is confident a barrage of last-minute attack ads in several of these key states could win him the White House.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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