Ohio’s governor boosts Obama
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland received a standing ovation Saturday night when he predicted that his state will again tip the race for the White House -- this time delivering it to Democratic presidential nominee-in-waiting Barack Obama.
Strickland, noting that he had backed Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic nomination, said she would want him to deliver a message.
“Barack Obama is the nominee of our party. He is a bright, committed, energizing young leader,” Strickland said at the Ohio Democratic Party’s annual dinner. “I met with him yesterday in Chicago and I pledged to him then, as I had previously, that I will work my heart out for him and that Ohio will work her heart out for him.”
Democratic governors who won election in states that twice backed President Bush have lessons to offer Obama, one of those governors said.
“The door of the White House only opens through Ohio,” said Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat from a largely Republican state.
Sebelius said Obama would be superior to presumed Republican nominee John McCain on kitchen-table issues Ohioans care about, such as healthcare, affordable education and home foreclosures.
Sebelius and 19 other Democratic governors met with Obama in Chicago on Friday to share state policy concerns and offer political help.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
