Crucial battleground state of Ohio up for grabs
(2 Nov 2016) For the last 40 years, the road to the White House in Washington, DC, has run straight through the Midwest state of Ohio. Nestled in a working class suburb of Columbus, is a bustling local eatery, Tommy's Dinner. The popular diner has been catering to all political stripes for more than 30 years. Political polls show it's a toss-up in Ohio and that means both Democratic Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump are criss-crossing the state all the way to election day. Undecided voter April Wheeler knows exactly how important her state is to the US political system. "Ohio just is an important state simply because we have a lot of electoral votes and we have a diverse population," she said. Wheeler, an attorney from Dublin, Ohio, wanted to see a Trump rally first-hand, even though she is leaning toward supporting Clinton. Trump's effort to pile up enough votes in a state Democrat Barack Obama won in 2012 gets tougher if Clinton siphons support from Republican strongholds. The state's capital, Columbus, is thriving with insurance, banking and education sectors. Here Democrats are finding cracks in support for the Republican candidate and raising Clinton's hopes for blocking Trump in a must-win swing state for him. But Trump's campaign is confident he will not only hold traditional Republican leaning regions, but make gains in areas such as the Mahoning valley in northeast Ohio. Trump's tough talk on trade deals and immigration is appealing to blue-collar workers there. Knowing that no Republican has ever won the White House without capturing the state's crucial 18 electoral votes, Trump has been courting Ohio voters with vigour. The Clinton campaign is pushing back, using an aggressive ground game that won the state - twice - for Obama. Republicans, like Mark Miller, however believe Trump's message is striking a chord. HD version available in \\Source_Clips\Newsroom Failures Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
