toledoblade.com --

Sen. Hillary Clinton got up before dawn to shake hands at Toledo's Jeep plant yesterday and Sen. Barack Obama blanketed Ohio with a new 2-minute TV ad as the two scrambled to influence voters going to the polls today.

Today's primary election in Ohio, as well as votes in Texas, Vermont, and Rhode Island, could decide the direction of the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations. Also on the ballot are local tax issues and statehouse primaries.

Polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m., and voters can request the Democratic or Republican ballots or an "issues-only" ballot.

PLANNING TO VOTE?

• Polls in Ohio are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. today.
• To read a complete list of what’s on the ballot, go to www.sos.state.oh.us.
• Voters should bring a picture identification, such as an Ohio driver’s license, or bring a copy of a utility bill, bank statement, government document, or paycheck with their name and current address.
• Voters in Lucas County and several area counties will use electronic voting machines but may request a paper optical-scan ballot instead.
• Ohio’s primary is an “open primary,” meaning that voters may request a Republican or Democratic ballot no matter their
previous political party affiliation.
• Voters may also request an “issues only” ballot.

VOTERS GUIDE
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY: Primary judgment: Tuesday's Ohio contests, plus 3 other states may decide nominations
TOLEDO - 0.75% INCOME TAX RENEWAL: City voters to decide fate of major funding source
TOLEDO - SCHOOL ISSUE: TPS asks voters to back levy renewal
NORTHWEST OHIO - COUNTY RACES: Incumbents, newcomers vie for area positions
NORTHWEST OHIO - LEGISLATIVE RACES: Intraparty fights taking shape for state Senate seats
LUCAS COUNTY - GOP CENTRAL COMMITTEE RACES: Activist's recruits pursue dozens of Republican precinct positions
CONGRESS - OHIO'S 5TH DISTRICT: Latta to square off against 2 from GOP in bid to keep post
NORTHWEST OHIO - SCHOOL ISSUES: Pike-Delta-York, McComb seek building funds
NORTHWEST OHIO - BALLOT PROPOSALS: Seneca County Courthouse restoration tops issues in region
SUBURBAN TOLEDO - BALLOT ISSUES: Sylvania area levies seek funding for services, recreational facilities
SUBURBAN TOLEDO - SCHOOL ISSUES: Genoa district officials pursue money to pay for new facilities
OHIO SUPREME COURT: High court candidates look to fall
VIEW: The Blade's endorsements

PHOTO GALLERIES
VIEW: Barack Obama at UT
VIEW: Hillary Clinton visits Ohio
VIEW: Ohio primary photos

COMING UP
VIEW: Ohio Web site
VIEW: Ohio Democrats
VIEW: Ohio GOP

• DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION: Aug. 25-28, Denver, Colorado
• GOP CONVENTION: Sept. 1-4, Saint Paul, Minnesota
• ELECTION DAY: Nov. 4
• INAUGURATION DAY: Jan. 20, 2009

State Democratic Chairman Chris Redfern said Mrs. Clinton needs an 8-point victory margin in Ohio and Texas to remain in the race against Mr. Obama, who now has a lead of about 100 delegates and victories in the last 11 contests.

"She must, in my opinion, make that kind of show. It's not an either-or," Mr. Redfern said. "If we don't have a nominee sooner rather than later, it makes it increasingly difficult to defeat John McCain."

Mr. McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona, is hoping for victories in all four states to push him over the 1,191-delegate minimum for the GOP nomination. He continues to be challenged by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas.

Mrs. Clinton appealed for support at Chrysler LLC's Toledo Jeep Assembly plant in North Toledo where her predawn visit gained her a warm reception.

Vickie Botts, 48, said Mrs. Clinton's welcome was "a nice surprise. I sure hope she gets in."

Later, Mrs. Clinton rallied about 750 supporters at the University of Toledo's Bancroft Street campus.

Among her supporters in Toledo were actors Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen.

Mr. Danson, best known for his role in the TV show Cheers, told the crowd: "Your vote will literally put Hillary Clinton into the White House."

Mrs. Clinton and her campaign hammered at a report that Mr. Obama's top economic aide told the Canadian government that his campaign criticism of the North American Free Trade Agreement was just political rhetoric.

"I think that's the kind of difference between talk and action that I've been talking about," Mrs. Clinton told reporters inside the Hilton Hotel on UT's Health Sciences Campus, formerly the Medical College of Ohio.

The Obama campaign has denied anyone privately assured Canadian officials to view the debate in Ohio as "political positioning" over trade.

Both Democratic campaigns have said the NAFTA agreements with Mexico and Canada should be renegotiated to provide more protection for workers and the environment.

Mr. Obama released a 2-minute advertisement set for last night's newscasts, continuing his dominance of the airwaves. At WTVG-TV, Channel 13, Mr. Obama had spent about $100,000 since last Tuesday, while Mrs. Clinton spent $35,000.

The two-minute spot called Leader outlined Mr. Obama's plan to take the country in a "fundamentally new direction" free of the "obscene influence of lobbyists."

Most polls released yesterday showed Mrs. Clinton holding onto her leads in Ohio among likely Democratic voters.

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"This is a state that is well-suited for Senator Clinton and that's why she's ahead now,'' said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Connecticut's Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

The Quinnipiac Poll showed Mrs. Clinton leading Mr. Obama 49 to 45 percent, within the margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.

The University of Cincinnati's Ohio Poll saw Mrs. Clinton leading 51.3 percent to Mr. Obama's 42.3 percent. A Reuters/CNN/Houston Chronicle poll conducted by Zogby International had the race in a statistical tie.

On the Republican side, the Ohio numbers have been so lopsided in favor of Senator McCain that Quinnipiac has stopped polling on that question.

The Ohio Poll had Mr. McCain up better than 2 to 1. The Zogby Poll has Mr. McCain up 61 percent to 28 percent.

Mr. McCain campaigned heavily in the state more than a week ago while Mr. Huckabee limited himself to one day of campaigning here, preferring to focus on Texas.

Interest in the races has been intense as thousands of Lucas County voters have taken advantage of "early voting" hours, using absentee ballots, to vote over the weekend and yesterday.

Toledo tax issue

Toledo voters will decide whether to renew the 0.75-percent payroll tax that raises $57.7 million for the city's general fund. Mayor Carty Finkbeiner has said the city could be forced to lay off 735 employees, including 456 police officers and firefighters, if the tax is not renewed. The city would have another opportunity in November to pass the tax if it fails today.

Robert Reinbolt, the mayor's chief-of-staff, said yesterday that if the levy fails, scheduled police and fire classes in the fall would be scrapped, and the city would "plan for layoffs at the beginning of 2009."

The mayor and other city leaders, speaking during an outdoor rally of mostly police officers and other city employees yesterday, declared the tax is vital for Toledo.

Crime was down 10.2 percent in 2007 over 2006, Mr. Finkbeiner said, because of the efforts of the city's police force.

"Any citizen of this city who can go to the polls tomorrow and vote negatively after you men and women have been out there protecting their families and their children, and all of us, shame on them," Mr. Finkbeiner said.

The Toledo board of education is asking voters to renew a levy which provides $15.8 million a year for the district and which has been in effect since 2000.

Superintendent John Foley said if the tax is not renewed in 2008, the district would have to lay off personnel and possibly close schools. The district would have another opportunity to win voter approval in November.

Lucas County's precinct committee elections, held every two years, are the focus in today's election of a rivalry for power in the Republican Party.

Activist Jon Stainbrook recruited 160 candidates to run for precinct committeeman posts out of the 250 precincts that have candidates. Mr. Stainbrook said the party needs new blood after the scandals associated with Tom Noe, former party chairman and fund-raiser. Current party officials say some of those running on the Stainbrook slate have little or no history of voting Republican.

Courthouse vote

In Seneca County, voters will decide a 20-year, 0.72-mill bond issue that would support renovation of the county's 1884 courthouse. If the issue passes, Gov. Ted Strickland has promised to find $2 million in state funding to help pay for the restoration of the historic building.

In Ohio's 5th Congressional District, newly elected U.S. Rep. Bob Latta of Bowling Green is battling competition for the GOP nomination from Iraq war veteran Scott Radcliffe of Perrysburg and Michael Reynolds, a part-time merchandiser, author, actor, and recording artist from Putnam County's Columbus Grove.

Mr. Lattta, a former state representative, was elected in December to fill the remainder of the late Rep. Paul Gillmor's term. The district centers on Wood County and stretches from the Indiana line to Ashland County. The winner will face Democrat George F. Mays of Norwalk, who has no opposition in the primary.

Other races

Among statehouse nomination races are:

•26th Senate District. Republican voters will choose between Karen Gillmor, a former state senator from Tiffin, and state Rep. Steve Reinhard of Bucyrus, for the GOP nomination. The district ranges from Oak Harbor to Marysville and encompasses all or part of eight counties, including Sandusky, Seneca, and southern Ottawa. The winner will face former Marysville Mayor Tom Kruse who is unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

•2nd Senate District, which includes Wood and Erie counties, western Lucas County, and most of Ottawa County. Newly appointed Sen. Mark Wagoner (R., Ottawa Hills) is defending his seat against GOP challengers Mark Hollenbaugh of Bowling Green and John F. Schulte of Luckey. In the same district, Democrats Sylvia A. Washburn of Maumee and Darwitt R. Garrett of Sandusky face off for their party's nomination.

•81st House District, covering Sandusky County, western Seneca County, and southern Ottawa County. Former state Rep. Gene Damschroder is taking on incumbent Rep. Jeff Wagner (R., Sycamore) for the Republican nomination. The winner will face Democrat Andrew Kashmer of Oak Harbor in the general election.

Staff writers Jim Provance and Ignazio Messina contributed to this report.

Contact Tom Troy at:
tomtroy@theblade.com
or 419-724-6058.

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