As the summer election season hits its stride, we're seeing more and more evidence that Barack Obama is benefiting from the cross-country battle he waged with Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primary. Yesterday, National Journal's Carrie Dann reported on how the drawn-out contest helped Democrats cement their presence in important battleground states:

A glance at the primary calendar offers a list of red to purple states where Obama and Clinton stumped feverishly after McCain accepted the party mantle against the backdrop of the White House lawn on March 5. Democrats battled in Indiana, North Carolina and Montana -- all states touted by the Obama campaign as potential electoral pickups -- as well as in Oregon and Pennsylvania, Democratic-leaning states where McCain hopes to gain ground. [...]

[T]he difference in simple ground covered in the five contested states that held post-March 4th primaries is striking. In the Tar Heel State, for example, Obama held a total of 14 events over nine campaign days. McCain has spent only three days there, one in a private meeting with evangelical iconBilly Graham and his son. In Indiana, Obama made 26 appearances over 20 days, to McCain's two. McCain trails Obama by more than five campaign stops in Montana, 10 in Oregon and 25 in Pennsylvania.

All told, in those five states, Obama has campaigned for a total of 54 days to McCain's 13, giving Obama a net lead of 41 campaign days. That lead has grown, not shrunk, since Obama clinched the nomination and began campaigning in nontraditional regions as part of his campaign's avowed 50-state strategy.

It's not all about campaign stops. Blue Indiana points out that Obama already has a massive network of organizers in the Hoosier State thanks to the hotly contested Democratic primary:

Indiana has had Obama staffers on the ground for weeks. The campaign has already announced that at least 25 campaign offices will be opening across the state, and I received numerous emails over the last few weeks touting a fellowship program that promises to put quite a few Obama organizers on the ground in addition to their paid staff. [...]

While the Obama campaign hits the ground running in the Hoosier state, John McCain has finally decided to dedicate someone -- no seriously, they just have one staffer -- to our little corner of the Midwest.

Blue Indiana also notes that the upsurge in Obama's popularity among Hoosiers coincided with the beginning of his primary campaign there. Across the border in Missouri, Democrats are grateful for the heated primary season as well, reports the Kansas City Star:

The drawn-out primary struggle with Hillary Clinton is now paying a major dividend, said Missouri’s Sen. Claire McCaskill, an Obama confidante — legions of now-experienced hands.

“Never before have we had a presidential nominee who’s organized and competed in nearly all 50 states prior to the general election,” she said.

Adding to Obama's advantage, is the fact that John McCain, during all those months without a clear Democratic opponent, failed to lay much groundwork in the states where Clinton and Obama were stumping. His campaign instead seemed to assume that the Democrats would be fractured coming out of the contentious primary season and that he would benefit from these deep divisions. But to the contrary, those populations that heavily supported Clinton (such as women and Hispanics) are now throwing majority support to Obama.