Democrats rally against McCain

Ohio’s economy and jobless rate are a major issue in the upcoming election.

COLUMBUS (AP) — Presidential hopeful John McCain on Tuesday rallied Ohio Republicans whose support he will need in November’s general election and riled Democrats who have yet to pick their nominee.

McCain’s first public campaign trip to Ohio comes as he is on his way to becoming the Republicans’ official nominee. He planned a fundraiser tonight, and his campaign said he would join supporters to watch results from Wisconsin’s primary, which he was expected to win.

Ohio Democrats responded by issuing pre-emptive criticisms of the Arizona senator’s economic record, trying to bruise him ahead of the state’s March 4 primaries that won’t end their own bitter contest.

“If I am the nominee of the party, I will compete very strongly here, in the heartland of America,” McCain told reporters as he arrived for two days of campaigning. “We all know how important Ohio is in the electoral map and that it’s very important for Republicans to do well in Ohio.”

No Republican has won the White House without taking Ohio in more than a century, and only two Democrats have done so. Democrats, recognizing this, warned voters that McCain would ruin Ohio’s economy and be little more than a third term for President Bush.

“It’s not like John McCain is an unknown quantity,” said Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is supporting neither Hillary Rodham Clinton nor Barack Obama. “We know from his records and his statements in the past, and especially his statements from the campaign, he is in essence running for a third Bush term, especially on economic issues.”

Ohio’s economy has emerged as a central concern for the primary. The state consistently posts an unemployment rate at 1 percentage point higher than the national rate; manufacturing jobs continue to evaporate.

“We have to take care of these displaced workers. That will be one of my highest priorities so they can have another chance to be part of the economy,” McCain told reporters. “The economy is changing. We all know that. We are in an information technology revolution. It has changed the world; it has changed America.

“But we cannot leave people behind in the heartland of America, whether it is Michigan, Ohio or Illinois or other parts of America that relied on a manufacturing base.”

The economy loomed large over Michigan’s January primary, where McCain lost to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Voters there supported Romney, who grew up in Michigan, and his message on the economy. Romney has since dropped from the race and endorsed McCain.

McCain now is the presumptive nominee, although Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee remains on the ballot, as does long-shot Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. Huckabee was scheduled to appear on WBNS-FM and play presidential trivia. Paul has done little campaigning anywhere and has not publicly announced trips to Ohio.

McCain instead transitioned into a schedule that looks ahead to November, when Ohio will be key. After Vice President Al Gore clinched his nomination in 2000, he bypassed Ohio’s primary and earned criticism. Gore lost Ohio to then-Texas Gov. George Bush.

Democrats, meanwhile, remain without a nominee. Instead, leaders are trying to soften McCain’s Ohio hopes without a candidate of their own to rally around. While Obama and Clinton compete for delegates, Republicans will have a chance to spend months introducing McCain as the nominee, giving the former prisoner of war an advantage going into November.

“While we admire his courage then and we admire his life story — and especially his service to our great country, his unselfish service to our great country — that doesn’t mean that we should want him as president,” Brown said.

Also trouble for Democrats is that the party’s two remaining contenders are very similar on paper, he said. Their policy differences often are minute, leaving the campaign to personalities and biography.

“Hillary and Barack, we know there are some differences on issues, but not appreciable differences. And those differences are particularly small in contrast to where John McCain is and where he will take the country,” Brown said.

Mark Penn, Clinton’s chief strategist, disputed that description.

“There are differences in terms of being able to take on John McCain and win the general election,” Penn said. “Senator Obama has not really faced a credible Republican challenge.”

Obama won his U.S. Senate seat in 2004 by defeating transplanted Illinois resident Alan Keyes with 70 percent of the vote. Obama was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1996 without Republican opposition.

An Obama spokesman did not have a comment.