CBS reports:
Why Ohio is leaving Donald Trump for Hillary Clinton
A month ago, the perennial swing state of Ohio was slipping away from Hillary Clinton, who was struggling to win over working class whites and impress jaded millennials.
Today, Ohio looks more and more like it is hers to lose.
WCPO: Why Ohio is leaving Donald Trump for Hillary Clinton
The Republican nominee delivered a woeful opening debate performance, spent days feuding with a former Miss Universe, and it was all capped off the following week by news of a 2005 tape showing Trump seemingly bragging about sexual assaulting women.
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The Clinton campaign stresses that it never abandoned Ohio, even as polls showed the state tilting away from her several weeks ago, with some showing Clinton losing to Trump by as many as 5 points -- a far cry from the narrow win President Obama delivered against Mitt Romney. Trump’s appeal among working class white voters -- especially white men -- sliced into Clinton’s support among traditional Democrats.
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But even as their candidate focused her appearances on other battleground states, the Clinton campaign continued to push their economic message and register voters -- especially minorities and young people -- with a ground game far superior to that of the Republicans.
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Hillary played the long game in Ohio. While polls looked tough the campaign continued to build a superior ground game, register scores of voters, and continued to push a strong economic message. Now that is bearing fruit in Ohio.
Back to CBS’ write up:
Trump’s stumbles on the national stage, Ohio observers say, have hurt him with moderate Republicans and independents – voters who may never have been solidly for him but had hesitations about Clinton. That’s left the Clinton organization on firm footing heading into the final month of the race, with early voting set to start on Wednesday. According to the latest CBS News poll, Clinton leads Trump among likely voters in Ohio by four points, 46 percent to 42 percent.
Along with the lewd videotape that landed last Friday, The New York Times revealed that Trump may have not paid any federal income taxes for nearly two decades. And Newsweek discovered that the most recent Trump construction projects purchased steel and aluminum from manufacturers in China rather than from corporations based in the U.S.
In Ohio, where layoffs in the steel industry have hit hard over the last two decades, Clinton seized on the opening.
“He claims to be on the side of workers,” Clinton said of Trump on Monday at a rally in Columbus. “He especially likes to talk about how he supports America steel workers. He even had the nerve, this is what kills me, he even had the nerve about how American steel will send skyscrapers soaring. The whole time he was hiding the truth, hiding the fact that he choose to buy illegally dumped Chinese steel instead of American steel.”
Indeed, the polls have turned. These are the last 7 polls out of the state of Ohio, courtesty of Pollster.com:
| Poll | Trump | Clinton | Other | Undecided | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oct 2 – Oct 9 341 Likely Voters | 46 | 50 | 4 | Clinton +4 | |
Oct 5 – Oct 7 997 Likely Voters | 42 | 46 | 9 | 3 | Clinton +4 |
Oct 5 – Oct 6 782 Likely Voters | 43 | 44 | 7 | 6 | Clinton +1 |
Oct 3 – Oct 6 812 Likely Voters | 40 | 43 | 11 | 5 | Clinton +3 |
Oct 1 – Oct 4 405 Likely Voters | 42 | 44 | 7 | 6 | Clinton +2 |
Sep 27 – Oct 2 800 Likely Voters | 42 | 44 | 9 | 6 | Clinton +2 |
Now, in the wake of Trump’s aggressive debate, the GOP chairman of Ohio has come out to state that he might not support Trump for President:
Cincinnati Enquirer:
After debate, Ohio GOP chairman unsure whether he'll vote for Trump
Saturday was the worst day in Matt Borges’ career in politics.
The Ohio GOP chairman says he did three dozen interviews, condemning Donald Trump’s 2005 comments about his behavior toward women, but not quite pulling his support.
That was his party’s nominee who had said those things. His party. The one whose national chairmanship Borges is expected to seek this fall. The one whose true ideals he believes in. The one that had a shot at defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton and now is stuck with – this.
At home on Sunday, as he joins his wife on an oversize sectional to watch the debate, the peace of mind about Trump is no better. Kate Borges started backing Republican politicians when she married Matt in 2010, having been sold on the notion that “Republicans stay out of your business.” But she had never backed Trump. Last week, she made headlines when Matt acknowledged she wouldn’t let him put a Trump sign in their yard.
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Kate leans forward, her mouth tight, her eyes wide. “It’s locker room talk,” Trump insists. A hint of a wry smile forms. “No, I have not” acted in the way described, Trump says. Kate chuckles ruefully.
One of Matt and Kate’s dogs vomits.
“Trump was so bad, he made the dog throw up,” Kate calls, dashing for the paper towels.
You can’t make this stuff up.
On Monday Hillary held her biggest rally yet, in front of 18,500 people at Ohio State University. Ohio is headed our way, folks, we are looking very good in that state now.
Way to go, Ohio. Hillary's rally draws almost 20,000. Ohio State University, way to represent!
What a great rally. And in front of almost 20,000 people (18,500 enthusiastic supporters showed).
Here is the speech Hillary gave at this great, energized rally:
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Here is the full video of the event for those interested watching with all speakers included:
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Politicus USA:
Ohio Is Clinton Country As Nearly 20,000 Supporters Rally Behind Her In Columbus
Clinton has the momentum in the Buckeye State.
Hillary Clinton, fresh off a debate in which voters said she was the clear winner, rode into Ohio on Monday night and was greeted by a crowd of 18,500 enthusiastic supporters – a sign that the Buckeye State clearly isn’t out of reach for the Democratic nominee, as many pundits have suggested in recent days.
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Columbus Dispatch:
Before 18,500 at Ohio State, Hillary Clinton calls Trump 'an equal-opportunity insulter'
Those wondering how Hillary Clinton would respond to Donald Trump’s vulgar video and his debate performance didn’t have to wait long during a rally before thousands at Ohio State.
“Donald Trump spent his time last night attacking when he should have been apologizing,” she said a few minutes after taking the stage.
“We all heard on that tape what he thinks of women and how he treats women,” Clinton said as the crowd booed.
Before a crowd the campaign said the Secret Service estimated 18,500 when those watching from outside the secured area were counted, Clinton said, “It wasn’t just this one video that was so disturbing and shocking. We have seen this behavior throughout this entire campaign. … He’s targeted others as well.”
She added: “He is an equal-opportunity insulter if there ever was one.”
