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Strickland ready to hit campaign trail with Obama
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Columbus, Ohio — Gov. Ted Strickland has some advice for Barack Obama when Obama makes his first campaign trip to Ohio since becoming the Democrats' presumptive nominee for president:
Run a campaign like Strickland's in 2006, not like John Kerry's in 2004.
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"I felt that John Kerry tried to win the state by focusing on the metropolitan areas only," Strickland said on Wednesday, June 11.
Metropolitan areas are important but "you cannot allow yourself to be overwhelmingly defeated in the other areas of Ohio," Strickland said.
"So, when I ran, unlike John Kerry, I tried to communicate to the people throughout Ohio, big cities and small towns as well, and I would hope that the Obama campaign would pursue that strategy and go to the rural areas of the state and the small towns within our state...," said Strickland.
On Friday, June 13, Strickland will campaign for the first time with Obama, who'll be accompanied by his wife Michelle. They'll be in Columbus at an invitation only event with senior citizens as part of the campaign's two-week "Change that Works for You" tour, focusing on the economy.
Also on Friday, Michelle Obama will hold a fundraiser in Cincinnati.
Strickland had been Sen. Hillary Clinton's top Ohio supporter for the Democratic nomination but switched his allegiance to Obama, an Illinois senator, after Clinton suspended her campaign.
Kerry lost the state to Republican President Bush in 2004 despite running up huge margins in the metropolitan areas. In the 2006 governor's race, Strickland ran ahead of Republican J. Kenneth Blackwell in most parts of the state, including Republican strongholds.
Obama lost the March primary to Clinton, winning just four metropolitan counties – Montgomery, Cuyahoga (Cleveland), Hamilton (Cincinnati) and Franklin (Columbus) – and Delaware County north of Columbus.
Strickland pledged to campaign with Obama "every chance I get if he invites me."
Meanwhile, Republican John McCain is expected to be in the state on June 26-27, former Sen. Mike DeWine, McCain's Ohio chairman has said.
McCain, an Arizona senator, "will campaign throughout the state as he continues to engage voters" with plans to reform Washington and provide relief for families facing economic challenges, Paul Lindsay, a McCain spokesman, said.
Contact this reporter at (614) 224-1608 or whershey@DaytonDailyNews.com.
