Obama chips at Clinton’s coalition

Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont are next.

COLUMBUS (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Democratic presidential campaign had counted on support from women, and less-educated and less-affluent voters. They weren’t there for her in Wisconsin; if the trend continues, they might not be there for her in Ohio.

Rival Barack Obama claimed those demographics Tuesday and completed a 10-state string of wins that again shuffled the Democrats’ nominating contest. As the two head toward Ohio’s March 4 primary, the state’s demographics offer scant reason for the Clinton camp’s public optimism.

“He fractured her coalition totally,” said Paul Maslin, who was a pollster for former Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson but is unaffiliated in the current race. “If this is a preview of Ohio, she is in trouble.”

Obama about tied Clinton among Wisconsin women, erasing what both campaigns assumed would be a reliable advantage for Clinton. He won among white voters, a sign Clinton’s base is eroding. And he extended his support from just young voters to those under 45.

“When you look back at the beginning of the race, Senator Clinton started with huge strength in the African American community and the Latino community, with non-college-educated voters,” Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said. “A large part of that, I think, is a remnant of the Clinton administration and some warm feeling toward those years.”

Plouffe said the Obama campaign has slowly been able to erase that advantage.

Another pollster said Obama’s campaign had better hold off on celebrating just yet.

“Demographically, Ohio is still better for Senator Clinton than other states,” said Peter Brown of Quinnipiac University’s Survey Center. He cited Ohio’s blue-collar economy, smaller black population and an overall sense the state is more conservative than Wisconsin.

But as voters look at the current two-way race between the fresh-faced Obama and the party-entrenched Clinton, the momentum is leaning to Obama. Clinton’s camp hopes to change that on March 4 when Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont cast ballots.

“This whole nominating process has come down to Texas and Ohio,” Bill Clinton told voters Wednesday in Texas. “If she wins in Texas and in Ohio, she will win in Pennsylvania, and I believe she will win the nomination.”