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ELECTIONS
Ohio moves into primary spotlight
IRONTON -- State legislators in Ohio debated moving up the state's primary election to have a bigger say in who the next president would be, but then left it on March 4.
That decision is paying off now. Ohio and Texas are right in the middle of the presidential race, and candidates or their surrogates could be making stops in southern Ohio.
"Right now, Ohio is the epicenter of the Democratic presidential primary," said State Rep. Todd Book, D-McDermott. Former President Bill Clinton, stumping for his wife Hillary, is scheduled to visit Shawnee State University in Portsmouth on Monday, Book said Friday. He also wouldn't be surprised to see her rival or a representative visit southern Ohio before the primary.
With U.S. Sen. Barack Obama winning 11 primaries in a row, even some of U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton's supporters say she must win next week to sustain her campaign for the White House.
"The candidates know to win Ohio, you need southern Ohio," Book said. The two presidential candidates will meet in a televised debate in Cleveland Tuesday.
He is backing Clinton at the behest of Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, who campaigned for Clinton earlier this month in Ironton.
"When I talked with Governor Strickland, he said it was important to have a friend in the White House. She has a proven record. She will be prepared to lead on day one."
Terry Null, an Ironton resident and former Lawrence County commissioner, is excited about the race and plans to vote for Obama.
"This is like (John Fitzgerald Kennedy's) campaign all over again," he said. "He's picking up steam in Ohio.
"We're seeing history, whoever wins," Null said. "I think people are ready for change. There's an excitement in the air."
Clinton's 20-point lead several weeks ago has narrowed to 7 in a poll released Friday that has a plus or minus percentage of 4 percent.
Owen Pleasant, a 94-year-old Burlington resident, is casting his absentee ballot for Obama and thinks he will win in November.
"This country is in bad shape," Pleasant said. "We need change."
The race on the Republican side isn't as close with U.S. Sen. John McCain expected to get the Republican nomination.
"I think McCain has the nomination locked up," said County Auditor Ray T. "Moose" Dutey, director of the county's Republican executive committee.He helped bring President Bush to Ironton during the last presidential campaign.
"I think (McCain) needs to mend some fences with the conservatives in the party," Dutey said. "We have to get our base back. If the conservatives don't come out in November, he won't win."
Dale Mootz, a Lawrence County resident, will vote for a Republican on March 4, but it won't be McCain.
"I'm not that big a fan, but I plan to vote for (Mike) Huckabee," he said. "He's a longshot, and he's not my first choice, but I'm glad he's hanging in there."
Dutey considers Ohio crucial for Clinton. But if she wins in the big states next week, Democrats' chances in November could be hurt, he said.
"The Democrats could be heading for a trainwreck if the fight goes all the way to the convention," Dutey said. "They could be fighting over the super delegates. I think it helps the Republicans that the Democrats are in a close race."
Derrick Fisher, an Ironton lawyer who was county chair for U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown's campaign last year, said Ohio matters for the first time in a long time in the presidential race.
"We have both candidates focusing on Ohio," he said. "I like all the motivation on the Democratic side. The motivation is to get a Democrat in office. Once the Democrats have a nominee, the party will join ranks."
"The Republicans have a problem with their conservative base," Fisher said. "Their core base is lackluster for him. Right now they don't have all the conservatives on their side. That might cause some of them to stay home in November."
