Ohio governor: Rural Appalachian voters could determine winner of state's Democratic primary

Rural residents in the hills of Appalachian Ohio have the same concerns as the rest of their mountain neighbors to the southeast — high unemployment, poverty, and the feeling that they often are forgotten by the urban parts of their state. Because of next week's Democratic presidential primary in Ohio, however, the region is getting attention, reports The Associated Press. (AP photo shows residents of Peebles, Ohio, discussing the election.) Former president Bill Clinton planned to spend today campaigning in the area for his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, while Sen. Barack Obama was sending his surrogates to campaign for him -- including David Wilhelm, an Appalachian Ohio native who managed Clinton's 1992 primary campaign.

"Although the region traditionally leans Republican, Democrats have made inroads in recent elections, giving the party hope that it can continue to pick up votes outside of Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and other urban areas," AP reports. "Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat who grew up grew in the Appalachian region, said voters there may determine the outcome of the state's Democratic primary."

Strickland, who supports Clinton, told AP her stances on health care and other working-class issues will help her win votes, as will her past work with the region. In recent weeks, Obama has shown he can draw support from the demographics of regions such as this one. "In the Wisconsin primary last week, exit polls showed Obama running evenly with Clinton among lower-income, lower-education whites and drawing heavy support from white men without college degrees," AP notes. (Read more)

Bill Clinton "started today's swing through the southern part of state in Chillicothe, where he told a rally at a branch campus of Ohio University that his wife is the only candidate who has policies to help working class families," reports AP's Matt Leingag. Clinton also spoke at Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, on the Ohio-Kentucky border), and had stops planned for Athens and Lancaster.

"A Quinnipiac University poll showed Clinton with an 11 percentage point lead, down from 21 points in a poll released a week and a half ago," Leingag writes. "An Ohio Poll had Clinton leading 47-39, with an 18-percentage-point lead among women accounting for most of the difference." (Read more)

Wilhelm gave his first speech supporting Obama during an organizational campaign meeting in his hometown of Athens, reports reports Caitlin Zachry of The Post, the student newspaper of Ohio University. “I’m impressed by Barack Obama because of his rural development strategy,” he said at last week's meeting. “He has presented a philosophy that fits Southeast Ohio.” (Read more)

Bill Clinton was scheduled to appear at 2:45 p.m. at the Athens Community Centers, reports The Athens Messenger. "It's exciting," Susan Gwinn, chairwoman of the Athens County Democratic Party, told The Messenger. "I am glad we are getting so much attention. It shows the importance of Athens County to the Democratic Party." (Read more)

Last week, the paper's managing editor, Monica Nieporte wrote: "For all their 'I feel your pain' speeches, neither Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama really has any idea what the pain of the middle class or lower-income class feels like. Perhaps one day in the distant past they did, but certainly not now. Most of the people who rise to this level of success in our country leave behind the working class that they love to champion in their rhetoric." (Read more)