Ohio — still a key player

Ohio — still a key player

Ohio used to send Ohioans to the White House.

One of them, Rutherford B. Hayes, was declared president on this date 131 years ago. We won’t get into the messy details of the 1876 election.

Beginning in 1869 with Ulysses Grant and running through 1923 with the death in office of Warren Harding, men born in Ohio held the office of president for 23 of those 54 years. The other Ohioans were James Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley and William Taft.

And, no, Grover Cleveland, who was president for eight of the intervening years, was not an Ohioan — although he was a distant relative of Moses Cleaveland, for whom the city is named. And Cleveland was a Democrat; all seven Ohio favorite sons were Republicans.

These days, Ohio is more likely to decide who is president than to provide the candidate.

The nation won’t choose a new president until November, but Ohio Democras will be playing a key role two days from now in determining whether their party’s nominee is Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.

Republicans have three candidates still running, though the outcome in that race is hardly in doubt.

The nation’s eyes will be on Ohio Tuesday, but your vote can’t count unless you cast it.