PRESIDENTIAL RACE Kerry taps ex-chief of Ohio Democrats

Jim Ruvolo will head the front-runner's campaign in the Buckeye State.
By JEFF ORTEGA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- Democratic presidential front-runner John Kerry has recruited a former leader of the Ohio Democratic Party to head his campaign in the state and is opening field offices to turn out his supporters for the Ohio primary election on March 2.
"John Kerry is running a great campaign," Jim Ruvolo said Saturday. "One of the reasons I accepted this is because he's already hit the ground running."
Ruvolo, who served as chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party from 1983 to 1991, said Kerry campaign staffers will be reaching out to voters from offices in Youngstown, Athens, Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Springfield and Toledo.
Ohio is one of 10 states that hold primaries or caucuses on March 2, also known as Super Tuesday. Other candidates expected to vie with the Massachusetts senator and acknowledged front-runner for the Democratic nomination include U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Cleveland and the Rev. Al Sharpton of New York.
Whomever captures the Democratic nomination will take on Republican President George W. Bush in the November general election.
Grass-roots outreach
Ruvolo said the Kerry campaign's focus will be on grass-roots outreach.
"What we need to be doing here now is getting this operation up and running," Ruvolo said in a conference call with reporters.
Ruvolo said Kerry's outreach in Ohio will focus on newly registered voters and Democratic voters who've been identified to vote in the primary as well as organized-labor supporters.
Ruvolo said he was unsure how much Kerry would end up spending on the Ohio primary and said the Kerry campaign has yet to decide whether it will air television ads in the state.
Ohio stops
Kerry, who stumped in Dayton and Columbus this past Wednesday, is expected to be back in the Buckeye State Tuesday and Wednesday, Kerry campaign aides said.
Details are still being finalized, but Kerry is expected to be in Youngstown, Toledo, Cleveland and possibly other stops to talk about jobs and the economy, said Kathy Roeder, a spokeswoman for Kerry for President, Ohio.
Ruvolo said he was unsure beyond that how many times Kerry would be in Ohio before the primary.
Other states hosting primaries March 2 are California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. Minnesota has caucus elections the same day.