Ohio Presidential Primary Election Results: Obama/Clinton, Huckabee/McCain, Congressional And Legislative Contests

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- Click here to the see the voting results in Ohio as they are tallied by Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. She will begin posting results after the polls close March 4. The numbers available on The Daily Bellwether via the link to Brunner's office include the Democratic primary between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and the Republican contest between Mike Huckabee and John McCain. There will be totals for the congressional races and statehouse nominating contests.

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland Now In Ads For Hillary: She'll Fix NAFTA And Create New Jobs

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland is now up in TV and radio spots hawking Sen. Hillary Clinton as the Democratic presidential candidate who can best bring jobs to his economically battered state. The TV ad is low key and Strickland's voice is almost somber -- it is not a fiery, get out and vote message. Still, he has shown no sign of retreating or racheting down his efforts in the face of Sen. Barack Obama's surge past Hillary in the national polls. And Hillary's once substantial lead in Ohio is eroding. The surge seems ready to swamp Strickland's determination to keep her presidential campaign afloat.


In the ads, Strickland says she will create new jobs in Ohio and fix NAFTA. You can see the 30-second TV spot here. Here's the script Strickland uses for the radio ad:

"I've known Hillary for fifteen years, admired her since the day I met her. She's a person of deep faith, who is driven by deeply felt-values, everything she does is an effort to make life better for other people. She’s also a person who I believe understands Ohio very deeply. Hillary Clinton is the candidate who can best provide the leadership that America and Ohio needs to revitalize our economy, to bring healthcare to our people, to make education high quality and affordable for all of our children and she is most capable of bringing this war to an honorable end…What Ohioans I think need more than anything else is to have confidence that their presidents going to be working for them and Hillary Clinton is a person who will be that kind of president. She’s fighting for us."

Hillary Goes REALLY Negative: On Foreclosures, Calls Obama To The 'Right' Of Bush

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Barack Obama as a right winger? The Clinton campaign now contends the Illinois senator's plan to deal with the foreclosure crisis is worse than the White House effort:

"Sen. Obama is positioning himself to the right of President Bush. The Bush administration recently reached an agreeement with the mortgage industry to implement a limited foreclosure moratorium and a loan modification program that could result in rate freezes for at-risk borrowers. In December, the administration announced another plan that also called for a rate freeze for qualified at-risk borrowers. While this plan is not sufficient, it goes farther than Sen. Obama."

Ohio Presidential Primary Ballots: Still List Kucinich, Fred Thompson and Rudy

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- The ballots started going out to absentee voters in Ohio five days ago. And six presidential candidates who say they aren't running any longer still are shown as having their names in the race, as the link to the Secretary of State's office shows. Official explanations from elections officials vary: The six suspended campaigning too late to be removed from the March 4 ballot, or they didn't legally withdraw. Inquiring minds are wondering: Might the presence of these non-active candidates affect the outcome in close races? If Edwards gets some 5,000 votes statewide, does he impact Clinton v. Obama?

In the March 4 Democratic primary, voters will see the names of:

• Barack Obama
• John Edwards (out of race)
• Dennis Kucinich (out of race)
• Hillary Clinton

Republicans will find:

• Fred Thompson (out)
• Mitt Romney (out)
• Ron Paul
• John McCain
• Rudy Giuliani (out)
• Mike Huckabee

Huckabee's Top Staffers: Memo Declares Faith In Ohio GOP Conservatives

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- Feistiest line in the memo -- don't let the media pick the GOP candidate. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's top aides issued the document aimed at rallying the troops and informed campaign workers that no surrender is anticipated. Ed Rollins and Chip Saltsman foresee a GOP presidential primary race against John McCain in Ohio, and portray Huckabee's refusal to quit as a positive "because vigorous discussion will keep all the media 'oxygen' from migrating over to the Democratic contest." In other words, Obama and Hillary won't get all the headlines.

The complete text of the memo is available here on Nuke Gingrich. The pertinent part for Ohioans:

"So don't let anyone tell you that it's over. In fact, as of today, no fewer than 27 states, districts and territories have not had a chance to vote. That includes such big states as Texas (Chuck Norris' home state, 'nuff said), Ohio and Pennsylvania. All the Republicans and Republican minded independents in those states want to be part of the process, too, and they deserve to have a choice put before them. Folks don't want the Republican Establishment to pick the nominee for them through a premature rush to judgment, and they sure as heck don't want the media to pick the nominee."

Obama Opens Ohio Campaign: Web Site Up, State Director Named

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The Obama Web site is already beginning to list events around the state. And the presser reprinted below is being distributed. It emphasizes the grassroots nature of the campaign in the days ahead:

CHICAGO, IL -- The Obama for America campaign today announced that it will begin to dispatch resources and staff to Ohio in preparation for the primary on March 4th. Paul Tewes, the Obama campaign’s Iowa State Director, will serve as the campaign’s Ohio State Director, and field staff is expected to begin work in the state in the coming days.

“While Senator Clinton begins her Ohio campaign with support from much of the political establishment, we are confident that the strength of our longstanding grassroots support in the state will translate into a formidable organization,” said Tewes. “As has proven true across the Midwest, Ohioans are looking for a candidate who is able to work with people of all parties and all viewpoints to get things done, and a candidate who will stand up to special interests on behalf of working families who know too well how poorly our economy is performing. Barack Obama began his career by working to bring hope and opportunity to a community devastated by a steel plant closing, and as he travels the state, Ohioans will recognize that he is the candidate who can bring change we can believe in."

Last weekend, Senator Dick Durbin and Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman kicked off a statewide organizational meeting that attracted over 500 activists. Grassroots chapters from Toledo to Marietta and Ashtabula to Cincinnati have been organizing for months to lay the groundwork for a field operation. Key elected officials supporting Obama throughout the state have helped spur the grassroots organization, including Mayor Coleman, Legislative Black Caucus Chair Tyrone Yates, Cuyahoga County Commissioner Tim Hagan, Cincinnati Senator Eric Kearney, Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams, Cuyahoga County Commissioner President Peter Lawson Jones, Warren Representative Tom Letson, Akron Representative Vernon Sykes and Dayton State Senator Tom Roberts. Senator Obama has visited Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati twice each since the beginning of his presidential campaign, as well as Boardman. Michelle Obama also visited Cincinnati in 2007.

[UPDATED]Ted Strickland: Hillary Is Counting On Ohio's Guv To Build Obama-Proof Barrier

[UPDATE: 7:27 pm -- Ohio Valley Politics has Strickland's e-mail this evening that urges his supporters to volunteer for Hillary. Ohio's governor has stepped up to the plate, no doubt tapping his list of supporters from 2006, a goldmine in the coming struggle.]

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Outside of the two presidential candidates, arguably the nation's most important Democrat after Super Tuesday is Ohio's 66-year-old governor, who now has the task of delivering his swing state's pivotal primary to his longtime pal, Hillary Clinton. He also is going to be paying back a favor: Bill Clinton reportedly raised about $225,000 for Strickland's run for governor. The governor also needs a victory to avoid eating his own words. Three months ago, he said "Hillary has what it takes to win Ohio."

Hillary also has said the "road to the White House goes through Ohio," but she was probably thinking November 2008, not March.

Strickland delivers his second State of the State address Wednesday. But his words are likely be subsumed in the gusts whipped up by Barack Obama and Clinton, both storming toward the Buckeye State with a full-force nomination fight. And Strickland won't be able to run for shelter -- he endorsed Hillary in early November. At the time, nearly everybody thought the Democratic contest would be over, she'd be the winner, and that Ohio's March 4 primary would be a mere sidelight in national politics.

Now, Ohio could be for all the marbles, or at least a huge sackful. Clinton must rely on Strickland's homestate clout -- he's one of the nation's most popular governors -- to hold Obama back. Indeed, he probably has become her best hope. The governor has campaigned for her in Iowa and South Carolina -- tuneups for the job at hand. Soon, he'll be turning up all over his own state singing her praises. He's not shy about supporting Hillary. When he endorsed her last November, he said:

"She is the strongest candidate that our party can put forth, and she is the candidate who can win the presidency."

And:

"These serious times call for a leader with Hillary Clinton's strength and experience. Hillary has what it takes to win Ohio and take back the White House in 2008. Her commitment to rebuilding the middle class and expanding opportunity for all Americans is exactly what this country needs."

Clinton and Strickland are going to be spending time in Ohio's urban counties. But insiders say they'll also be visiting plenty of small communites like Coshocton and Portsmouth, places where Strickland's support runs deep. Those rural and semi-rural Democrats could be the key for Hillary, who seems to be losing support among African Americans, who represent some 15% of the Democrat vote in Ohio. It is no secret that the governor -- who served in Congress representing a rural district and grew up in Scioto County in Appalachia -- has a strong base and emotional ties in rural and smalltown Ohio, where about 15% of the state's 11 million residents live.

Obama Begins Organizing Ohio Campaign: Sen. Durbin Rallies Overflow Crowd, Sees State As Crucial

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- The Columbus neighborhood center chosen for Sen. Barack Obama's first session to organize March 4 Ohio primary volunteers could not handle the crush today, which overflowed onto the sidewalks outside. Columbus Mayor Mike Coleman seemed taken aback by the size of the crowd, and said he wished he had booked the city's larger convention center. A bit of hyperbole -- but the place was packed and spilling over. The headcount wasn't announced, but a break-out meeting for donors had to be held outdoors because there was no space available in the building.

Illinois' other senator, Dick Durbin, told the throng Ohio has become crucial in the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination. Durbin, national co-chair of the Obama campaign, said volunteers will begin flooding into Ohio from across the U.S on Feb. 6, the morning after Super Tuesday. He said there was no likelihood a clear winner would emerge on Super Tuesday. During the two-hour organizing session -- which drew people from across the state -- Ohioans were being enlisted to give the volunteers rooms and beds for the coming showdown with Hillary Clinton. Said Durbin:

"Well Ohio, now it's your chance. Now it's your turn."

Gerald Austin, an Ohio political operative who managed Jesse Jackson's 1988 campaign, said Obama has wider appeal this year. Austin said Democrats appear far more comfortable with the idea of an African American seeking the presidency. He noted that the crowd in Columbus Saturday was racially diverse. Twenty years ago, Austin said he secretly hired whites to stand behind Jackson at political rallies so the crowds weren't entirely black. He said he never told Jackson about his deception, which was meant to show Jackson's appeal was wider than it really was. Austin said the Democratic establishment in Ohio, including Gov. Ted Strickland, is backing Clinton and the "machine is formidable." Still, he said Obama can win.

"My job is to talk about the political climate in Ohio. One word: Ripe."

Cuyahoga County Commissioner Tim Hagan, who spoke briefly with The Daily Bellwether, said Clinton intially appears to hold the upper hand in Ohio: "It's going to be tough for us. The governor is lined up with Hillary. They are going to use his list (of supporters, donors, e-mail contacts and volunteers). The establishment is lined up with Hillary."

Hagan said Obama will be looking for endorsements after Super Tuesday, and that Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory -- neutral so far -- can expect a phone call from the candidate. "He's going to be making that call, he's going to talk to Mallory. Obama is going to call him."

[UPDATE: 6:10 PM -- Ohio Daily Blog has a report that also takes note of the massive attendance. There is a picture of Sen. Durbin, whose presence clearly signals the import of today's launch in Ohio.]