Which factor will most affect voting in Ohio?

Ohio's politics are volatile, and have a history of being so. I realize that the results will be a mix of all of these factors, and others, but if you had to pick one or the top three, what would they be and why? I am also wondering how many people will just stay home out of protest, but did not include that on this list. Thanks for your participation, and have a good day.

they won't care what color he is.

I too voted race.

McCain does not have the religious draw that * did in 2004.

Palin has energized the conservative base but Ohio is not Texas, even the r/w nuts in Ohio have an ounce of objectivity when it comes to supporting a candidate on the basis of their conservative views. Case in point - Petro vs Blackwell.

Unfortunately many Ohioans, even democrats, will not vote for a black candidate no matter how good a candidate she or he is. Case in point - Barbara Sykes.

And the landslide in favor or Strickland over Blackwell.

vote for President usually affects the ticket the rest of the way down.


That being said, I hate the trend we are seeing for the increasing number of ballot issues which try to legislate agendas, instead of letting them get worked out in the markets or courts, so I wasn't thinking of ballot issues when I wrote the poll. Thanks for the question.

Idiots on the other side.

McCain was just awful in the final debate. He's getting a lot of bad advice, and I don't understand why he keeps using it.

Worse than no traction...negative traction.

In 2005, 12.66 percent of Ohio's population was black, and

From Wikipedia:

As of 2004, Ohio's population included about 390,000 foreign-born (3.4%).

The largest ancestry groups in Ohio are German (25.2%), Irish (12.7%), African American (11.5%), English (9.2%), American (8.5%), and Italian (6.0%).


Population Density Map: German is the largest reported ancestry in most of the counties in Ohio, especially in the northwest, central, and the extreme southwest. Ohioans who cited American and British ancestry are present throughout the state as well, particularly in the south-central part of the state. Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Dayton have large African American communities. Cleveland and Toledo have sizable Hispanic populations, while the Cleveland and Columbus areas have the largest Asian populations. Greater Cleveland is home to a notably large Jewish community. Other Ohio cities, such as Cincinnati, also have sizable Hungarian and Jewish populations.

6.6% of Ohio's population were reported as under 5, 25.4% under 18, and 13.3% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51.4% of the population.