Obama stops in Lima, Toledo

Associated Press

Photo

AFTER CHURCH: Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, center, talks with Pastor Lars Olson and his wife, Pastor Katherine Olson, and son, carl Olson, 11 months, after going to church at St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Lima, Ohio. Obama attended a service there Sunday.

LIMA, Ohio (AP) — Barack Obama continued his campaign tour of battleground Ohio with a stop on Sunday in Lima, where he attended services at a Lutheran church.

Obama took communion and shook hands with other worshippers during the 10 a.m. service. His name wasn’t mentioned by Lars Olson, the church’s pastor, although Olson did refer to him as a special guest.

Olson said he was first told of the visit at about 8:30 a.m. Lima police officers received a call at about the same time. After the service, Obama chatted outside with supporters for about 25 minutes.

Obama campaigned in Northeast Ohio and spoke at a rally outside Columbus in Dublin on Saturday. With his stop in Lima, he became the first Democratic presidential candidate in decades to visit Allen County, a longtime Republican stronghold.

“It’s the first time that I know that a Democratic candidate came here,” said Ruby Sims, 58, a local party activist. “We always get Republicans.”

Obama traveled to Toledo on Sunday afternoon for an economic forum at the city’s downtown library. His running mate, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, mentioned a northwest Ohio high school football game that went into five overtimes Friday night, saying that a win in Ohio for the Democratic ticket would ensure a victory in the national electoral vote.

Sen. John McCain, the presumed Republican nominee, was scheduled to arrive in Toledo Sunday night ahead of a campaign appearance today.

Obama and Biden traveled to Michigan for more campaigning Sunday evening.