NBC’s Tim Russert, who died Friday of a heart attack, will be remembered for his tough interviews on Meet the Press, including a blistering one with Gov. Bill Richardson. But in New Mexico he’ll be remembered because for the last two presidential elections he was correct in predicting which states would be key to the outcome of the United States Electoral College. And this time around he was predicting that New Mexico again would be a battleground.

On the June 15, 2007 MSNBC show Tucker, with Tucker Carlson, Russert predicted that the battleground states of the 2008 presidential election would be New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Nevada, saying "If Democrats can win three of those four, they can lose Ohio and Florida, and win the presidency."

We’ll have to wait until November, of course, to see if the veteran political analyst was right. If he is, this will be three presidential elections in a row that Russert boiled the election down to key battleground states and nailed it correctly.

Remember Tim Russert’s low-tech marker board from 2000? He used the white dry erase board during NBC’s coverage of that U.S. presidential election where he calculated possible United States Electoral College outcomes on a marker board on the air, accurately predicting in advance that the election would hinge on "Florida, Florida, Florida."

He was right then, and four years later Russert again accurately predicted the final battleground of the presidential elections: "Ohio, Ohio, Ohio."

Russert continued to use his marker board as a recurring prop on NBC election night broadcasts. Just another example of how Russert’s easy going and average-guy persona won over viewers. View Russert’s last marker-board prediction here.

Richardson, for his part, issued a statement Friday on the  news of Russert’s death. It read in part:

 

“I am deeply saddened by Tim’s untimely passing and Barbara and I send our thoughts and prayers to his family.

“Tim set the standard for tough but fair political coverage and his contribution to the journalism profession cannot be overstated.  Because of him Meet the Press is the dominant Sunday talk show and a must-do for politicians.  He leaves big shoes to fill.<

“On-camera he could be tough, but off-camera you saw his great sense of humor and how much he cared about people, especially his family. It’s a great loss.”