McCain Campaigning in Cleveland Today

Sen. John McCain, the Republican Presidential frontrunner, will be campaigning in the Cleveland area today. As I type this, he is in Rocky River at the Dom Hurley Civic Center on Hilliard Road. Later this afternoon at 4:45 PM, McCain will be at Colonial Eatery in Parma on Rodge Road. Tomorrow McCain will be campaigning in the Cincinnati area.

Ohio Republicans Are Rooting For Hillary

No real surprise here. Ohio GOP Deputy Chairman Kevin DeWine and others are openly admitting that they are rooting for Hillary Clinton in March 4's Democratic Presidential primary because they believe she can unite the Republicans like no other opponent and be ultimately defeated in the general election due to her high negative ratings. As evidenced by the recent USA Today numbers that gave her a negative rating of 49%.

I'm not so sure this conventional wisdom is completely accurate. Obama appears to be a big gamble for Democrats. There is real hesitation among Hispanics toward Obama's candidacy and Obama is polling weakly in some key states, including Ohio. Here in the Buckeye State, SurveyUSA has Clinton leading McCain by 10 points, 52%-42%, while Obama only has a three-point advantage over McCain, 47%-44%. Obama fares far worse against McCain in places like Florida and mind-bogglingly, Obama is only two points ahead of McCain in....drum roll...Massachusetts!

Obama will either win big or lose in a landslide. It seems unlikely he can win in a fairly close election scenario. While Obama and his rhetoric are playing well among independents for now, the real test will come in the fall. Obama has been mediocre thus far in his debate performances against Hillary. Not that McCain is a collegiate debater with a cabinet full of trophies, but he is a better candidate than Hillary ever will be. And I still maintain Obama's numbers are bound to drop. The current love affair the media has with Obama now will end once Hillary is out of the picture for good.

So, Ohio Republicans may be supporting Hillary in the hopes of drawing the weaker candidate but be careful what you wish for. Hillary is still polling well among seniors (the most reliable voting bloc) and union voters. As Pat Buchanan has pointed out more than once, those are exactly the kind of usual Democratic voters McCain can peel away to win The White House--especially in a state with a demographic makeup like Ohio.

Quinnipiac: Clinton Maintains Healthy Lead in Ohio

Quinnipiac University has released its latest round of polling in the wake of Hillary's big losses in the Potomac states this past Tuesday. And despite Hillary's recent campaign woes, she is maintaining a healthy lead in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Among Ohio Democrats, women back Clinton,
56 percent to 30 percent for Obama, while men
back Clinton 52 percent to 42 percent, the poll found.

The Quinnipiac poll is basically in line with the previous SurveyUSA poll (see below). Quinnipiac has Hillary with a 56%-30% edge over Obama.

The pollster pointed out that Ohio possesses the perfect demographic for Hillary Clinton: blue collar Democrats with no college education.

In an Ohio general election matchup with the presumed Republican nominee Senator John McCain, McCain has a very slight lead against Clinton, 44%-43% and McCain had a bigger lead against Obama, 44%-40%. Both set of numbers are good news for McCain. His ability to win The White House is obviously strengthened if he manages to keep Ohio in the Republican column. Plus, the Quinnipiac poll also found that McCain is polling very well in neighboring Pennsylvania. McCain only trails Obama by one point in PA, 42%-41%, but does trail Hillary by a 6-point margin, 46%-40%.

This set of polls from battleground states like OH and PA should serve as a wake up call for Democrats. While Obama may be leading McCain in national polls by a slightly better margin than Hillary, he's performing considerably worse against McCain in these key states. It should be warning sign for Democrats everywhere, but I hope not.

Breakdown of GOP Presidential Race in Ohio by Congressional seat

By popular request, I've also done a breakdown of the Republican Presidential primary in Ohio by Congressional district. Despite Huckabee's latest "surge," if it can be qualified as that, this race is far less close (and consequently less exciting) than its Democratic counterpart. Nevertheless, there are some Congressional seats and pockets of rural Ohio where Huckabee could perform well.


OH-01: McCain.Whatever amount of urban area Republicans exist in Cincinnati will support McCain in large numbers. The Butler County portion of this district could tilt toward Huckabee, however.

OH-02: McCain. Although a safe GOP district (usually), the makeup here is primarily suburban Republicans and I just don't see them going toward Huckabee. On Super Tuesday, many of these suburban Republicans supported Romney because of his economic views. I suspect them to now go to McCain by default.

OH-03: McCain yet again. Dayton should be kind to McCain, especially when considering Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is located there. Military servicemen and women have been behind McCain from the beginning.

OH-04: Finally we get to a district Huckabee has a realistic chance of winning. I'll say Huckabee wins here by a few points.

OH-05: Combination of rural counties plus Toledo suburbs (Wood County). In recent special election here, attacking the Democrat on illegal immigration and abortion played well. Social conservatives will come out for Huckabee here but I think the more populous counties go to McCain. I say McCain here by about 5 points.

OH-06: Rural Republicans. This is the perfect demographic for Huckabee. I say Huckabee here by a healthy amount.

OH-07: More suburbs of Dayton and Columbus spells good news for McCain. McCain will win here by a healthy margin with strong suburban support.

OH-8: Another rural district. It would seem like a good pickup opportunity for Huckabee but I'm not so sure. Urban sprawl has brought some of the Cincinnati exurbs into Butler County and likewise for Dayton exurbs. I say McCain here, but barely.

OH-09: This one is hard to predict. It includes Toledo (good for McCain) but also some rural areas along Lake Erie. With McCain as the obvious frontrunner, I say he wins. Ohio Republicans like to support the winner.

OH-10: McCain and it won't even be close. Bedroom communities won't identify with a preacher from Arkansas.

OH-11: McCain by a lot, again. These safe Democratic districts all go for McCain. Remember Super Tuesday and the California primary. One reason McCain beat Romney by so much in California was because he carried all the safe Democratic districts in a rout (think LA, SF Bay). The same will hold true in Ohio and elsewhere around the country.

OH-12: Another suburban district for McCain.

OH-13: McCain.

Oh-14: McCain. Wealthy suburbs of Chardon, Pepper Pike, Gates Mills, Kirtland Hills, etc. will be supporting the establishment candidate in landslide.

OH-15: McCain, Huckabee won't play well in inner city Columbus or on OSU's campus.

OH-16: McCain, but not by much. He'll rack up big margins in places like Canton, Massillon, and Medina. That's enough to win the whole seat.

OH-17: McCain. Huckabee won't break 30% here.

OH-18: This could be Huckabee's strongest showing in Ohio. Rural counties will like Huckabee. I say he could conceivably win here by 10 points.

Statewide: 60%-35% McCain. A clear win for McCain but maybe not as impressive as some would imagine. Doesn't matter, he's got a clear path to the nomination. Huckabee should have dropped out before Romney. Then again, I would have preferred he never ran in the first place.