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Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has not campaigned in Ohio since Labor Day, or in Toledo at all this election cycle.
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Where is Hillary?

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Where is Hillary?

Prior to the formal beginning of her presidential campaign, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a stop at a Maumee Chipotle, in April, 2015.

She was incognito. Mrs. Clinton was en route to Iowa for the start of the Democratic primary season, and was hidden behind big sunglasses. Few people recognized her as she ordered lunch.

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She has not returned to the Toledo area since. Not even for lunch. Unless it was incognito and this time nobody at all recognized the possible next president.

Why? Why is this Democratic town not on the Democratic nominee’s radar?

Mrs. Clinton cannot hope to represent Toledo if she does not know what Toledo needs, and she will not know what Toledo needs unless she comes here and asks Toledoans.

CNN’s Jeff Zeleny has speculated that Mrs. Clinton is conceding Ohio to Donald Trump. That seems like a ludicrous idea given Ohio’s historical significance as a bellwether state in presidential elections, but Mrs. Clinton’s actions seem to lend some credence to the report. She has not been in the state since Labor Day, while her opponent has been here nine times in September.

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Mr. Trump’s Ohio campaign spokesman, Seth Unger, described Mrs. Clinton’s continuing absence from Toledo as an ‘‘ongoing and unprecedented snub.”

He is right.

Mrs. Clinton’s campaign has brought to town her daughter, Chelsea Clinton; her husband, former President Bill Clinton; and the cast of The West Wing.

That doesn’t cut it.

While Chelsea Clinton is an intelligent, articulate, young woman, she will not be living in the White House should there be a second Clinton presidency. Mr. Clinton has always been a popular figure in northwest Ohio, but his star power does not make up for the candidate’s absence.

It is possible that Mrs. Clinton has not gotten here because of physical limitations? We all know she was ill this month. If she has a more profound health problem, it is hard to believe the Clinton campaign would tell us. Maybe she is spending her time fund-raising or making TV commercials. Maybe she doesn’t like to campaign. But, for whatever reason, Mr. Trump seems to be doing considerably more campaigning, not only in Ohio but elsewhere in the nation.

It would be a shame if our candidates lost this last bit of connection with American places and people. It would be sad if candidates became even more distant from their fellow citizens, and from regions in America that are hurting and need help — like northwest Ohio.

If Mrs. Clinton abandons Toledo and Ohio, she does it at her own peril. Since 1900, Ohio has voted for the winner every election but two. Ohioans preferred Thomas Dewey — with former Ohio Gov. John Bricker as his running mate — to Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944 and Richard Nixon topped John F. Kennedy in 1960.

At this point, Toledoans have a right to say to Mrs. Clinton: Come to our community. Tell us what you will do to help us deal with an opioid problem that is ravaging our state. Tell us how you will help restore Lake Erie and what you can do to keep our drinking water pure. Tell us how we can create jobs here. Tell us you will revisit NAFTA.

The path to 270 electoral votes is much more difficult for Mrs. Clinton without Ohio’s 18 votes.

First Published September 29, 2016, 4:00 a.m.

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Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has not campaigned in Ohio since Labor Day, or in Toledo at all this election cycle.  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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