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Democrats had reason to go to polls Tuesday
By Dennis J. Willard
Beacon Journal columnist
Published on Sunday, Mar 09, 2008
COLUMBUS: Euphoric Democrats in Ohio should put away the blue paint or at least plan to use erasable markers to designate counties as their own following the primary Tuesday.
Yes, it was a big day for U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., as she defeated U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., by a 55-45 margin in Ohio.
In doing so, Clinton resuscitated her dying campaign. Onward to Pennsylvania.
Gov. Ted Strickland was also a winner, demonstrating he has the organization, support and clout to play a significant role in delivering Ohio to Clinton.
But giddy Democrats are taking Tuesday's results a little too far, spinning the day's voting patterns as a sign that they have somehow transformed purple Ohio into a blue state.
This is just not so.
Ohio has been and will be a state of Democrats, Republicans and the thousands of independents who will continue to base their votes on the individuals running rather than swearing an oath of allegiance to any given party.
There is also a subset of independent voters who defer during primaries and vote a party line each November in large part because they do not want their political affiliation known.
So why are the Democrats acting like it's
the rebirth of the New Deal generation?
Well, according to the Ohio secretary of state's office, Clinton and Obama combined for 2.2 million votes while U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., received about 1 million votes.
Does this mean there are suddenly 1 million more Democrats in Ohio than Republicans? Hardly.
Democrats are also pointing to the fact that the number of people who voted for their party's candidates increased by 76 percent since the last presidential primary compared to 11 percent for Republicans during the same period.
Four years ago, Ohio was a foregone conclusion in the primary. Democrat John Kerry and President Bush were already poised to go at each other in November.
Tuesday's numbers prove only that Democrats had a reason to turn out in near-record numbers because their vote, for a change, meant something.
The same phenomenon occurred in 2004, only it took place in November at the end of the general campaign.
Remember the large crowds Bush and Kerry pulled in during every stop in Ohio, the record number of newly registered voters, the fact that almost 500,000 more people voted than in 2000?
Perhaps the myriad of political scientists studying the reasons, pro and con, for our nation's declining interest in voter turnout should focus on the subject of relevancy.
When it counts, people come out, despite a downpour, even in an ice storm.
And then there is the crazy stat being floated that more Democrats voted last Tuesday than Republicans in 65 Ohio counties that Bush won in 2004.
Let's keep it real here.
Bush won most of the counties in 2004, some by relatively small margins. Kerry won big in fewer, but more densely populated counties to keep it relatively close in Ohio.
A better explanation is Republican voters in those counties stayed home or joined independents in crossing over to vote Democrat.
Yes, Republicans voted for Democrats this year for a host of reasons. They wanted to influence the outcome of the primary because they believe McCain matches up better against Obama or Clinton or maybe they just wanted their vote to mean something.
So turnout was the key Tuesday.
Look at the Ohio Senate race for the 6th District near Dayton, where the Democrat and Republican had no primary opposition.
Based on Tuesday's results, a Democrat named John Doll pulled in 33,476 votes, making him look pretty good in comparison to his opponent in the November election, who only garnered 30,822 votes.
Doll's opponent is House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering, who is destined to coast to victory in November when Republicans hit the polls and stay true to their party.
Nearby, Democrat Jack Schira captured 14,407 votes in the 69th Ohio House district compared to state Rep. William Batchelder's 10,707.
If you are a betting reader, and can't wait for the new Ohio Lottery Keno game to come to a nearby bar, put your money on Batchelder in November.
And if you are a Democrat, don't get frustrated because you can't seem to get a coat of blue paint to stick on a county because the red primer keeps coming to the surface.
Dennis J. Willard can be reached at 614-224-1613 or dwillard@thebeaconjournal.com.
COLUMBUS: Euphoric Democrats in Ohio should put away the blue paint or at least plan to use erasable markers to designate counties as their own following the primary Tuesday.
Get the full article here.
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