Sebelius says GOP using racial 'code language'

By NIGEL DUARA

Associated Press Writer

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius accused Republicans on Tuesday of injecting race into the presidential campaign, arguing that they are using "code language" to convince Midwesterners that Democrat Barack Obama is different from them.

"Have any of you noticed that Barack Obama is part African-American?" Sebelius asked with sarcasm. "(Republicans) are not going to go lightly into the darkness."

Sebelius was responding to a question from the audience at the Iowa City Public Library about the tenacity of Democrats and whether they would fight for victory as hard as Republicans in the closing weeks of the election.

She did not elaborate on her comment.

Sebelius said recent presidential campaign polling in the Upper Midwest shows the region is still in play for both parties. She noted that polls indicate Obama has a wide lead in Iowa over Republican John McCain but that the race is a dead heat in Minnesota.

The Democratic governor said she remains optimistic that Obama will carry the region because she believes tax issues, energy policy and health care reform all favor the Democrat. She said the Obama campaign will focus on the economy and try to tie McCain's tax and economic plans to President Bush's policies.

"Iowa is likely to be a state that's decided by a couple percentage points either way," Sebelius said. "Sen. McCain's on his way here Thursday. He clearly feels that Iowa is in play."

Sebelius talked about a "neighborhood-by-neighborhood ground game" strategy to win votes in the region, but she acknowledged that it won't be an easy fight.

In Minnesota, a Minneapolis Star Tribune poll on Sunday showed each candidate is supported by 45 percent of likely voters in the state. That's a dramatic improvement for McCain from a Star Tribune poll in May that found him trailing Obama in the state by 13 percentage points.

"Minnesota is a state that's likely to be close," Sebelius said.