GOP presidential hopefuls turning to Ohio primary

In this photo from Octo­ber 2011, Repub­li­can pres­i­den­tial can­di­date, for­mer Mass­a­chu­setts Gov. Mitt Rom­ney, speaks in Ter­race Park, Ohio, dur­ing his last visit to the state. (Asso­ci­ated Press | Al Behrman)

DAN SEWELL

Asso­ci­ated Press

CINCINNATI — Repub­li­can pres­i­den­tial cam­paign­ing in Ohio is start­ing to warm up after months of lit­tle activ­ity, while polls have indi­cated a volatile race.

Ohio, with 66 del­e­gates at stake, offers the second-most behind Geor­gia among 10 states with a pri­mary or cau­cus on March 6, dubbed “Super Tuesday.”

For­mer Mass­a­chu­setts Gov. Mitt Rom­ney is booked for a county Repub­li­can Party’s Feb.16 din­ner in sub­ur­ban Cleve­land, while for­mer Penn­syl­va­nia Sen. Rick San­to­rum is speak­ing Feb. 18 at the Ohio Chris­t­ian Alliance in Colum­bus and to the county GOP in Akron. For­mer House Speaker Newt Gin­grich and Texas Rep. Ron Paul also will com­pete for Ohio delegates.

Polls in recent months have shown Rom­ney and Gin­grich see­saw­ing for the lead in Ohio, with San­to­rum mak­ing a charge. Paul has con­sis­tently trailed, but has a loyal base of sup­port­ers across the state.

Miami Uni­ver­sity polit­i­cal sci­ence pro­fes­sor Philip Russo sees Ohio as “a big prize” and key test for those try­ing to become the nom­i­nee against Demo­c­rat Barack Obama, who car­ried the swing state in 2008 after George W. Bush car­ried it twice.

Besides the del­e­gates, “Ohio is also a micro­cosm of national pol­i­tics — the eco­nomic issues fac­ing Ohioans, high unem­ploy­ment, the polar­iza­tion between par­ties, as well as infight­ing among the par­ties. We’ve got it all here right now,” Russo said.

Gin­grich sup­porter Chris Lowe is look­ing for­ward to see­ing the can­di­dates focus on Ohio. The 28-year-old Gal­lipo­lis res­i­dent thinks Gin­grich has a clear mes­sage and likes his back­ground with the Con­tract With Amer­ica, the pol­icy agenda he pushed through Con­gress in his first 100 days as House speaker in the 1990s.

“I hope to see more cam­paign­ing, more signs, more involv­ing Ohio in the dis­cus­sions,” said Lowe, who has been con­nect­ing with other Gin­grich sup­port­ers in the state through social media.

Geor­gia, where Gin­grich built his con­gres­sional career, and its neigh­bor Ten­nessee also vote March 6, as he tries to rebound from Romney’s lop­sided vic­tory in Florida and what’s expected to be a rough string of Feb­ru­ary contests.

Russo thinks Ohio is par­tic­u­larly impor­tant for Rom­ney, who grew up in neigh­bor­ing Michi­gan where his late father was gov­er­nor. Rom­ney also got an early endorse­ment from U.S. Sen. Rob Port­man, one of the state’s three lead­ing Repub­li­can officeholders.

Port­man said Romney’s Florida vic­tory shows he has the diverse appeal to reach inde­pen­dents and other swing vot­ers who will decide states such as Ohio in November.

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio is remain­ing neu­tral, while Repub­li­can Gov. John Kasich said this week he doesn’t have any plans at this point to make an endorsement.

“Just get a nom­i­nee, and hope­fully they’ll have good plans for job cre­ation, plain and sim­ple,” Kasich told The Asso­ci­ated Press.

Early vot­ing in Ohio began this week.

Posted by AP News on Feb 3 2012. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS Feed. Comments can be made below.