Pet peeve as a off-again-on-again Ohio resident...most of stories addressing Ohio focus on northern Ohio. The real pain and suffering is mostly going on in southern Ohio.
(note: This was posted in response to another diary, but I decided to post it again as a diary itself. I think its important enuff to merit this double post, so please refrain from troll-rating me for posting it twice)
Southern Ohio demographics are a mess. In Cincinatti you find the only strong African-American presence in the lower half of the state. Historically, economically, and politically disenfranchised they are non-the less a democratic bastion in the area.
The two major southern cities are in the west, Cincy and Dayton. Politically moderate, leaning republican ('specilly in the Cincy suburbs). That being said there have been some suprising political events in the region in the past few years such as Ohioins rejecting a government plan to dump nuclear waste in a majority black area.
Another part of the equation is southern families that have moved to Ohio in the last few decades, increasingly so over the past 10 years. They came looking for jobs and found them...for a while. This is the case of a classic swing population. The outrage over outsourcing and job losses is palpable in this area. The counterbalance to this is a strong strain of cultural conservatism.
And then you have the South East. Applianchia. Suprisingly, old fashioned Democratic economic ideas are popular in this region, home to families which have been in Ohio for generations. This is Ted Strickland country.
The unemployment numbers for Ohio are somewhat misleading. In southern Ohio the unemployment rate reaches 9 percent in areas and is only going to get higher.
If you ask me, I agree that Ohio is a battleground state. But I think the south is where the actual battle is to be waged.
If they want a culture war, I'll give them a culture war. I intend to have as much gay sex as possible before the election. I encourage you to do the same.