Romney Team Goes All-Out in Buckeye State

I'm keeping my eyes on Ohio. It's really, really going to come down to this state.

At the Wall Street Journal, "GOP Sees Road Map in Strong 2004 Turnout for Bush; Obama, Leading in Polls, Banks on Auto Bailout and Early Voting":

Mitt Romney is making a full-court press to win Ohio and taking a page from George W. Bush's playbook to do so.


Signaling the state is a must-have part of his strategy to win the White House, Mr. Romney and his running mate are returning again and again—Mr. Romney crammed in three appearances Thursday. Romney forces this week are spending more on advertisements in Ohio than in any other state. And they are deploying multiple messages in a state as diverse as the nation.

"We've got to make sure we win here in Ohio, and when we do, we're going to take back the White House," Mr. Romney said at a rally in Worthington, a suburb of Columbus.

Romney aides believe Mr. Bush's 2004 victory in Ohio gives them a road map to winning the state's 18 Electoral College votes. One big factor is raw turnout and enthusiasm among the Buckeye State's rural areas and social conservatives.

The Romney team sees President Barack Obama's win in 2008 as having more to do with depressed GOP enthusiasm for Sen. John McCain than it did a surge of enthusiasm for Mr. Obama.

"In county after county, we're looking to reactivate voters who were turned off by McCain but are now excited about Mitt Romney," said Scott Jennings, the Romney campaign manager for Ohio. "If we can do that, we can win the state."

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