In our Anecdotal Evidence column, movers and shakers share personal stories聽of how intriguing (and often odd) presidential campaigning in their respective swing state can be.
Season鈥檚 greetings from Ohio, the heart of the presidential campaign
Herb Asher. Photo: Lars Gesing/CU News Corps
Herb Asher 鈥� Political Scientist, The Ohio State University
鈥淚 am writing a holiday newsletter instead of Christmas cards. In 2012, I labelled it, 鈥楪reetings from Ohio, the heart of the presidential campaign.鈥� Obama declared for re-election on campus. He has been on campus a total of seven times. The most amazing event that happened: We knew the president was going to Capital University. During the presidential campaign, we get a call that the president was going to make a surprise visit to our campus. I had never heard of such a thing. The White House Advance and Secret Service hate each other. This is the kind of thing they just never do.
鈥淲e had to keep it secret. We only had a day鈥檚 notice anyways. There was no preparation we had to do. So I go over to the Student Union, and sure enough, the motorcade pulls up and the president walks into the Student Union. Everybody starts texting and calling. There is a diner in the Union, called Sloopy鈥檚. The president sits down in a booth with three other students. He stayed for about half an hour, and then he left. Talk about bringing a campaign not just to Ohio, not just to Columbus, but to the campus.鈥�
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Why is southeast Ohio no longer voting for Democrats? Some say it鈥檚聽a racial thing
Paul Sracic. Photo: Lars Gesing/CU News Corps
Paul Sracic. Photo: Lars Gesing/CU News Corps
Paul Sracic 鈥� Political Scientist, Youngstown State University
鈥淏efore the last election a reporter from Pittsburgh asked where he should go to get some good quotes from Ohioans. I told him to stand outside a church in southern Ohio. He called me the next morning and said those were some of the best comments he had ever gotten. People were coming out saying, 鈥業 just wish there was a Christian we could vote for in this election.鈥�
鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 consider Romney a Christian because he is a Mormon and they thought Obama was a Muslim.It is a very religious area, socially conservative. They really turned on the Democratic Party. Coal mining is a big industry down there. Obama isn鈥檛 helping with his regulations. Some people think it鈥檚 racial. We鈥檒l learn more about that in 2016. If it stays red, and Hillary Clinton is the candidate 鈥� then it is not just racial.鈥�
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