Columbus, Ohio: Television pundits had little to talk about in the way of changes from the 2004 election, but when Ohio turned "Blue" mid-evening Tuesday, the winds of hope left the sails of the McCain Navy and changed course, blowing a new, Democratic ship of state, commanded this time by President-elect Barack Obama, onto the high seas of the future. Change in direction, in purpose, in inspiration, in hope, had indeed arrived.

With approximately 23 percent of the vote tabulated in the Buckeye State, Mr. Obama (54%) held a healthy lead over Mr. McCain (45%), who along with his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, had toured the four corners of the state, but focused most of his time in its smaller towns with occasional forays into the metropolitan areas of Columbus and Cincinnati. On the Sunday before Election Day, all polls but for one had a composite lead for Mr. Obama of about 5 percentage points.

In 2000, the election between Al Gore, the Democrat, and George W. Bush, the Republican, was all about Florida. In 2004, when President Bush beat John Kerry, the Democrat, by a couple percentage points, Florida was still a major factor in his win. But in 2008, Ohio, with its 20 precious Electoral College votes, was the big win, one that no Republican has made it to the White House without winning.

One of several states that had early voting, allowing voters to cast their ballot a month before Election Day. Reports said that upwards of 25 percent or more of the 8,257,766 active voters had cast their ballots early, a statistic that election watchers said favored Mr. Obama, in large part due to his strong and expansive ground game in Ohio's 88 counties. By late October, the Ohio Secretary of State reported that 1.46 million Ohioans had requested an absentee ballot. Factoring in a projection that 80 percent of Ohioans would turn out to vote, a record number, the lead Mr. Obama racked up provided a high hurdle for Mr. McCain to overcome, given he couldn't keep up with Mr.Obamas fundraising or field office operations.

Fifty-three Ohio counties used touch-screen voting machines, but also provided back-up paper ballots. Thirty-five counties used precinct-based optical scan voting machines. Ohio Republicans sought to challenge the large number of new voters who came onto the voting rolls through various lawsuits, some of which gained ground in lower courts but not in the state's high court. In the tussle between the two major parties, the partisan spit and fire that cloaked larger issues like the state of the Ohio economy, or education or health care became so furious that Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat who won office in 2006 and who has been at odds with Republicans for nearly two years, was assigned security protection from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, who stood by her recently when she provided reporters with an update on how voting was proceeding. According to published reports, this marked the first time that Ms. Brunner has received security protection. Death threats have targeted her, her family, and the secretary of state’s office.

Prior to Ohio's March primary election, the Ohio Democratic Party had a name for how they were going to turn Ohio "Blue" in 08. It was called the "Perfect Storm" and it provided a detailed plan of how a better funded, better organized state political party could build on its performance in 2004, albeit a loosing cause, and switch voters who had voted for President Bush to vote for Democrats.

Although Republicans did not find a high court, the state's or the nation's, that sided with them, that didn't stop them from continuing their legal maneuverings. According to the election-law site, Election Law @ Moritz, Tuesday evening, following an amendment earlier in the day to a lawsuit they had filed before, Ohio Republican Party v. Brunner (ORP),  federal district court judge Algenon Marbley granted Ms. Brunner her motion to consolidate the case with the case of Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless v. Blackwell (NEOCH), filed two years ago. The Moritz Web site said that "in an oral ruling from the bench, Judge Marbley noted that the as yet unresolved claims in each case seek uniformity in the processes for counting ballots, and that the two cases share common claims of vote dilution and violations of the equal protection clause. A written opinion is expected to follow."

John Michael Spinelli is a former Ohio Statehouse government and political reporter and business columnist. He now serves as the OhioNews Bureau Chief for ePluribus Media Journal. Find ONB archives here.

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